Won Jeong Hwa, a temptress-spy who used sex to gain classified information, which she then passed on to North Korea, has been dubbed a modern day Mata Hari by the press.
Like Mata Hari, the Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was executed for espionage during World War I, Won Jeong Hwa used “sex as a tool” for her missions, seducing South Korean officers.
She entered the South in 2001 after marrying a South Korean businessman in China, falsely reporting to authorities that she was a defector from the North.
Won, 34, was arrested in July on charges of passing classified information to the North, including the locations of key military installations, lists of North Korean defectors and personal information on South Korean military officers.
According to investigators, she plotted to assassinate South Korean agents with poisoned needles provided by handlers from Pyongyang.
On Wednesday, Won was found guilty of all charges and sentenced to five years in prison.
In South Korea, spying for North Korea is a crime that carries the death penalty as the maximum sentence. In issuing its sentence the court took into consideration that the information Won sent to the North did not pose serious threats to the country’s security and that she has repented and cooperated with the investigation.
More photos of Won Jeong Hwa below.