Nearly 200 BYD vehicles can enter and exit South Korean military bases! Lawmakers worry about filming secrets being sent back to China

There are at least 190 Chinese BYD vehicles in South Korea that can freely enter and exit military bases, and members of Congress are worried that secrets will be filmed and transmitted back to China. BYD vehicle diagram. (AFP)

South Korea's National Power Congressman Kang Dae-sik revealed that there are at least 190 connected electric cars (connected cars) from China's BYD automaker in the country, which can freely enter and exit military bases, raising concerns that secrets may be filmed and sent back to China.

According to the Chosun Ilbo report, Kang Dae-sik pointed out that about 190 BYD electric vehicles have been registered at South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense and various military, naval and air force bases, including the Busan Naval Combat Command, which can dock U.S. aircraft carriers, the Jinhae Naval Base in South Gyeongsang Province, which focuses on submarine operations, the Cheongju Air Base in North Chungcheong Province where F-35s are deployed, and the Yecheon Base in North Gyeongsang Province, which delivered the domestic supersonic fighter KF-21 in September. BYD has free access.

In terms of the army, South Korea’s Gyeryongdae Army Headquarters in South Chungcheong Province, Yongin Ground Combat Command and Special Operations Command in Gyeonggi Province have also registered Chinese connected vehicles. Insiders criticized that the military claimed that iPhones pose security risks and cannot be brought into military facilities, but did not take any measures against Chinese-made vehicles. This is simply ridiculous.

It is understood that these BYD electric vehicles are equipped with photographic lenses, GPS coordinate systems, driving radars, microphones, etc., and can transmit collected information through the Internet. The United States, the European Union, etc. are worried that China's connected vehicles will transmit data to Chinese intelligence units in real time.

The South Korean Ministry of National Defense has still not set up relevant regulations for connected vehicles. Although the Ministry of National Defense admitted at a meeting in April that military bases have a weak awareness of protecting image information collection, it only stated at the September meeting that it would promote the formulation of relevant measures.

In fact, when Norway launched an exercise in September this year, it leased vehicles from China Changan Automobile's electric vehicle brand "Deep Blue Motors" to companies with ties to China. As a result, the people getting on and off the vehicle, the driving route, the password to open the door of the military facility, who was picked up and dropped off, and how long they stayed at different locations were recorded. It is unclear whether these images were only retained in the vehicle or transmitted to other places.