A group of four South Korean activists accused of spying for North Korea are believed to have taken orders from the North and reported back to the regime at least 84 times.

According to their arrest warrants, the National Intelligence Service(NIS) and the National Police Agency(NPA) found 84 documents exchanged between the activists and the North from June 2017 to May 2021 after a raid in May.

The alleged spy ring made contact with an official from the Bureau of Cultural Exchange one of the North's counter-espionage unit that deals with South Korea, exchanging information using a steganography software that allowed them to embed messages into images. 

Members were given directives to report on the movements of both ruling and opposition figures in the North Chungcheong area, ahead of last year's general elections in South Korea, where the group was based.  

The group then reported on their meeting with an official affiliated with the ruling Democratic Party’s(DP) North Chungcheong headquarters.

The activists also reported on contact information, political experience and ideologies of members of the minor leftist Minjung Party upon the North's order in December 2018, and were told to acquire assets within the faction. The police recently questioned two senior members of the party, which has since been renamed the Progressive Party.

The group faces charges of violating the National Security Law for allegedly taking orders from Pyongyang and conducting protests against Seoul's plan to bring in U.S.-built F-35A stealth fighter jets.

The Cheongju District Court issued arrest warrants for three of the four activists on concerns they on they may destroy evidence.