Officials from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) visiting Panmunjom. In the center is FBI Director Chris Wray. / Photo: dvidshub.net Online Capture

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has recently drawn attention by repeatedly emphasizing the arrest of Chinese nationals in Italy through a joint operation on social media (SNS). Some speculate that the U.S. is increasingly expanding its cyber investigation efforts, including international election hacking. 

Brett Leatherman, Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI's Cyber Division, reportedly placed particular emphasis on the FBI's joint sequential operations against cyber attackers at the '2025 Aspen Cyber Summit' last week. 

Subsequently, on the 25th, the FBI, citing Leatherman's remarks, unexpectedly revealed, "We are currently detaining five cybercriminals." 

In its post, the FBI disclosed, "Thanks to our strengthened cooperation with Italian authorities and our international partners, five cybercriminals are currently in custody. Among them is Xu Zewei, a Chinese national identified as the mastermind behind the 'Hafnium Hack,' where the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) attacked thousands of email servers," the FBI revealed. 

The FBI emphasized, "Our goal is to extradite them to the United States to face justice." 

In addition, the FBI also partially disclosed its strategy for countering cyber threats and its progress to date. 

Specifically, it stated, "We are working with numerous domestic and international partners to track threat actors and dismantle the infrastructure used for cyberattacks." The FBI indicated its focus on eradicating cyber hackers, saying, "In these operations, what's important is not who gets the credit, but completing the mission." 

According to Wikipedia, 'Hafnium' is known as a cyberespionage group associated with China's Ministry of State Security (MSS) and is closely linked to APT40. APT40 is also identified as a high-risk hacker group affiliated with the Hainan Provincial State Security Department (HSSD) in China.

The arrest of Xu Zewei (33) in Italy occurred in July. While the U.S. has stated it is working to extradite him, the likelihood of actual repatriation remains uncertain.

Brett Leatherman, Deputy Assistant Director of the FBI's Cyber Division. FBI SNS Capture

FBI Reveals First-Time Arrest of 5 Suspects, Including Chinese National Hacker 

Earlier, on July 8, the FBI's Houston field office announced the results of the operation to apprehend Xu Zewei, revealing that Zhang Yu (44), who was indicted preemptively with him, was still at large. The fact that five suspects were arrested at that time appears to be the most updated information. 

However, the U.S. public's reaction to the FBI's cyber investigation has been lukewarm.

One netizen posted a cynical image on the FBI's X (formerly Twitter) post, stating, "They say they're investigating, but there are zero arrests." 

The image listed various incidents, including the Russia collusion hoax, the January 6th Capitol riot, the Mar-a-Lago raid, Biden's Otopen, the 2020 election fraud, Epstein's pedophile clients, COVID-19, Benghazi, the results of the Government Accountability Office investigation, and the Ukraine impeachment hoax, with the number of arrests for each listed as '0'.

Conversely, columnist Jean Cummings analyzed in a Facebook post titled 'US FBI Launches Large-Scale Investigation into International Cartel of Cyber Election Manipulation' that the announcement holds significant meaning. 

She explained, "The core of this announcement is that the FBI has directly pointed to the Chinese Communist Party as the mastermind," adding, "This signals that President Trump had already issued directives for high-intensity arrest and indictment operations not only for server attacks by China but also for the entire global election fraud network connected to China."

Indeed, on the night of the 23rd, two days before the FBI's announcement, President Trump posted on Truth Social, "We must focus all of our energy and might on ELECTION FRAUD!!!"

This post shared a podcast titled 'Stolen Election' hosted by investigative journalist Lara Logan. 

Cummings pointed out that the FBI's announcement, Trump's remarks, and FBI Director Chris Wray's visit to three Asian countries are interconnected. She interpreted the schedule as "a process of alliance alignment just before the start of a full-scale cyber war, conveying a message to South Korea to 'jointly participate in the U.S. operation to dismantle the Chinese Communist Party's cyber organization.'"

She then added, "At the same time, it can be seen as prior notification of an investigation into South Korea." 

FBI Director's Top-Secret Visit to Korea… A Signal of a Shift in the US Election Fraud Crackdown? 

Along with speculation that the U.S. will undergo a significant shift towards a crackdown on international election hacking cartels, cautious analysis suggests that FBI Director Chris Wray's top-secret visit to Korea is a "preparatory step" for these movements. 

If the Trump-Xi summit earlier this month served as a touchstone for reaffirming a U.S.-led international security order, then the Director's visit to Korea is seen as a preliminary stage in expanding the concept of U.S. "national security," which was previously confined to the U.S. or the Asia-Pacific rim, to Northeast Asia. 

The FBI's official press release, which did not hesitate to use the term "frontline" to describe the visiting countries, indicates that the U.S. views the matter with great seriousness, making this a significant visit. The visit is considered even more meaningful as it took place at a time when the power struggle between the U.S. and China is solidifying in favor of the U.S. 

Some also note that Lee Jae-myung was excluded from Director Wray's itinerary. It is argued that President Donald Trump, who extremely limited the scope of cooperation with South Korea to an individual, 'Lee Jae-myung,' rather than the South Korean government, had no reason to have the head of a secret investigative agency meet Lee Jae-myung during his top-secret visit. 

The investigation into election fraud, which has been thoroughly ignored by legacy media in both South Korea and the U.S., has in fact been a matter of time, with significant behind-the-scenes activities taking place. 

There is also an interpretation that while the order rapidly reorganized in favor of the U.S. earlier this year, as time passed, China's resistance, led by rare earths, became considerable, leading to a complex situation. Consequently, the timeline for achieving the "ultimate goal" of eradicating election fraud cartels has also been delayed. 

It is argued that for President Trump, to avoid facing amplified internal and external dissatisfaction and challenging domestic issues, and strong headwinds like impeachment led by the Democratic Party, he must consider the risks of rushing ahead for his ultimate goal. 

Therefore, the eradication of election fraud cartels, though seemingly "drifting" on the surface, may be an attempt to leverage timing by quietly strengthening pressure on China and wielding the inevitable sword soon. 

It is predicted that if the term "official investigation into election fraud" is sequentially and officially mentioned by the U.S. leadership, the situation will undoubtedly change rapidly. Domestic media outlets that have ignored this will also face considerable difficulty in securing justifications. 

The reason for the cautious optimism is that it remains to be seen whether President Trump's covert efforts to dismantle the international election fraud cartel will navigate through rough seas and sail smoothly, or whether they will lose their course and drift. 

[Washington and Seoul] = Sung Ku Hong, CEO of NNP / Editor-in-Chief, Hankookmiilbo