Australia Sanctions North Korea's IT Worker Bosses and Two Shadow Bankers
Australia has listed four North Korean targets tied to the regime's overseas IT worker schemes. Under the Autonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011, the Foreign Minister designated Korea Mangyondae Computer Technology Company and Chinyong Information Technology Cooperation Company for targeted financial sanctions, and designated bankers Yu Pu Ung and Sim Hyon Sop for targeted financial sanctions and declared them for travel bans. The listings carry a control date of 22 October in DFAT's consolidated list and were announced on 23 October. The two companies employ North Koreans who pose as nationals of other countries to win remote work and send their pay to the state, which Australia says breaches the UN ban on North Korean labour exports. All four are already on OFAC's SDN List, but none is on the UK, EU or UN lists, and DFAT spells the first company Mangyondae where OFAC writes Mangyongdae.
This issue
- New designations
- 4
- Removals
- 0
- Entries amended
- 0
- Sources monitored
- 100
Two IT Worker Firms and Two Bankers
The Minister designated Korea Mangyondae Computer Technology Company and Chinyong Information Technology Cooperation Company for targeted financial sanctions. Both employ North Koreans who pose as nationals of other countries to win remote work on online platforms and send their pay to the state. US Treasury material cited in Australian reporting places their IT worker teams in Shenyang and Dandong in China, and in Russia and Laos. The Minister said this breaches UN Security Council resolutions that bar North Korea from exporting labour.
Yu Pu Ung and Sim Hyon Sop were designated for targeted financial sanctions and declared for travel bans. Sim was designated by OFAC in April 2023 as a Dandong representative of Korea Kwangson Banking Corp; reporting describes Yu as a China-based representative of Tanchon Bank. Australia said it acted with international partners, including the European Union, and on findings of the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team. Spelling matters here: DFAT writes Mangyondae where OFAC writes Mangyongdae, and lists Korean-script names and aliases for every party.
Party detail
Every row below was read against the issuing authority's own notice, not against a press report. Aliases are reproduced in full, including non Latin script forms, because the alias field is where a screening run usually fails. Identifiers are published sanctions data.
| Party | Action and instrument | Identifiers | Grounds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yu Pu Ung | DesignationAutonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011, DPRK criteria; Autonomous Sanctions (Designated Persons and Entities and Declared Persons - Democratic People's Republic of Korea) Amendment (No. 1) Instrument 2026 | Date of birth: 16 Sep 1966Nationality: North KoreaPassport: PS927320340 (North Korea) | Listed by Australia's Foreign Minister under the DPRK criteria of the Autonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011, which cover association with North Korea's weapons of mass destruction or missile programmes and assistance in violating or evading UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea. The Minister tied the listings to North Korean IT workers who pose as nationals of other countries to win remote work and send their earnings to the regime, in breach of the UN ban on North Korea's export of labour. Australian press reporting of the announcement describes him as a China-based representative of North Korea's Tanchon Bank who channelled IT worker earnings into weapons-related procurement. He is already on OFAC's SDN List (entry 47701, [NPWMD]). |
| Sim Hyon Sop | DesignationAutonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011, DPRK criteria; Autonomous Sanctions (Designated Persons and Entities and Declared Persons - Democratic People's Republic of Korea) Amendment (No. 1) Instrument 2026 | Date of birth: 25 Nov 1983Place of birth: Pyongyang, North KoreaNationality: North KoreaPassport: 109484100 (North Korea) | Listed by Australia's Foreign Minister under the DPRK criteria of the Autonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011, which cover association with North Korea's weapons of mass destruction or missile programmes and assistance in violating or evading UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea. The Minister tied the listings to North Korean IT workers who pose as nationals of other countries to win remote work and send their earnings to the regime, in breach of the UN ban on North Korea's export of labour. OFAC designated him in April 2023 as a Dandong-based deputy representative of Korea Kwangson Banking Corp (SDN entry 42498, [NPWMD]), and he is the subject of a US State Department reward offer. |
| Korea Mangyondae Computer Technology Company | DesignationAutonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011, DPRK criteria; Autonomous Sanctions (Designated Persons and Entities and Declared Persons - Democratic People's Republic of Korea) Amendment (No. 1) Instrument 2026 | Address: Songhung-dong, North Korea | Listed by Australia's Foreign Minister under the DPRK criteria of the Autonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011, which cover association with North Korea's weapons of mass destruction or missile programmes and assistance in violating or evading UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea. The Minister tied the listings to North Korean IT workers who pose as nationals of other countries to win remote work and send their earnings to the regime, in breach of the UN ban on North Korea's export of labour. US Treasury reporting cited in the Australian press says it runs IT worker delegations out of Shenyang and Dandong in China. OFAC lists it as Korea Mangyongdae Computer Technology Corporation (SDN entry 56044, [DPRK4]); note the different spelling. |
| Chinyong Information Technology Cooperation Company | DesignationAutonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011, DPRK criteria; Autonomous Sanctions (Designated Persons and Entities and Declared Persons - Democratic People's Republic of Korea) Amendment (No. 1) Instrument 2026 | Listed by Australia's Foreign Minister under the DPRK criteria of the Autonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011, which cover association with North Korea's weapons of mass destruction or missile programmes and assistance in violating or evading UN Security Council resolutions on North Korea. The Minister tied the listings to North Korean IT workers who pose as nationals of other countries to win remote work and send their earnings to the regime, in breach of the UN ban on North Korea's export of labour. US Treasury reporting cited in the Australian press says it manages teams of North Korean IT workers in Russia and Laos through a network of front companies and representatives. It is already on OFAC's SDN List (entry 43379, [DPRK2]). |
What this means for your organisation
- 01
Load the four Australian listings today: Add both people with their dates of birth and passport numbers and both companies, with every DFAT alias and Korean-script name, and run a retrospective screen across customers, counterparties and payments.
- 02
Match on both spellings: DFAT writes Korea Mangyondae Computer Technology Company and OFAC writes Korea Mangyongdae Computer Technology Corporation; Chinyong also appears as Jinyong. Make sure your fuzzy-matching thresholds catch both forms.
- 03
Review contractor and payroll flows: Check freelance, payroll and remote-hire payments for the red flags in DFAT's IT worker advisory, especially pay requested into accounts in other names or sent on to China, Russia, South-East Asia or Central Asia.
- 04
Apply the travel ban and permit rules: Yu Pu Ung and Sim Hyon Sop may not enter Australia, and any dealing with an asset of the four parties needs a permit from the Australian Foreign Minister; refer any match to the Australian Sanctions Office.
Where this issue came from
The map plots the sources Youverify monitors. The pulsing markers are the two authorities cited in this issue: DFAT and US-OFAC. Hover any marker to name the sources read there.
Method statement
Every entry is read word for word from DFAT's Australian Sanctions Consolidated List of 23 October 2026, compared row by row with the copy of 19 October, and matched to DFAT's notice of 23 October. Context on each party is attributed to US Treasury material as reported, and every name and alias was searched on the OFAC, UK, EU and UN lists.
Corrections
No corrections issued for this issue. Corrections are published on the issue they affect, dated, with the original text retained.Cite this issue
Vyra from Youverify. "Australia Sanctions North Korea's IT Worker Bosses and Two Shadow Bankers." Youverify Sanctions Monitor, issue 153, 23 October 2026. https://youverify.co/en/sanctions/2026-10-23. Accessed 23 October 2026.