One out of six video conferencing units operated by the Army is made in China. Concerns have been raised about the need for enhanced security management, as these units are installed in command and control centers at the corps and division levels, as well as in operational situation rooms.
On October 19, Yoo Yong-won, a member of the National Assembly's Defense Committee from the People Power Party, revealed data from the Army regarding the 'Current Status of Chinese Communication Equipment Acquisition and Operation.' According to the report, among the Army's total of over 800 video conferencing units, more than 130 are codecs from the Chinese telecommunications company Yealink, accounting for approximately 16%.
Of these, over 60 units are installed in command and control centers, operational situation rooms, and information situation rooms at the corps and division levels. These facilities are crucial for sharing operational situations in real-time and conveying commands from leaders. Concerns have been raised that security vulnerabilities in video conferencing equipment could lead to the leakage of sensitive military information.
According to Yoo's office, the government of Oklahoma banned the use of Yealink products on state networks in 2024 due to security concerns.
The Army stated that it conducted security assessments by the Military Counterintelligence Command before acquiring the equipment and has not identified any vulnerabilities in subsequent checks by the Cyber Operations Command. They explained that multiple security systems, including encryption devices, network access control (NAC), and unified threat management (UTM), are applied to the communication segments.
In addition to video conferencing equipment, the military has also acquired or currently operates over 1,770 Chinese-made CCTV cameras. The Army introduced approximately 510 units between 2022 and 2024. The Navy operates about 160 units, the Air Force around 400 units, and the Marine Corps approximately 700 units for surveillance operations and unit management.
Yoo emphasized, “Given that corps and division-level situation rooms are key facilities where sensitive military operations and command-related information are exchanged, the significant installation of Chinese-made video conferencing equipment, which has raised security concerns abroad, should not be taken lightly. Even minor security vulnerabilities could lead to the leakage of military information, necessitating stricter security management.” He further urged the military to conduct thorough security assessments of equipment installed in key facilities and to ensure rigorous security verification in future equipment acquisition processes.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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