Illegal Drone Flight Reports Surge... 3,056 Terror-Related Reports in 3 Years

Assemblyman Park Jae-ho "Preventive Measures Must Be Established"

Jaeho Park, member of the Democratic Party of Korea.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-ju] As drones become more common in daily life, reports of illegal drone flights and terrorism-related incidents have surged.

According to data received from the National Police Agency by Park Jae-ho, a member of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, a total of 3,056 terrorism-related reports were filed with the police from 2018 through August of this year. In 2018, there were only 171 reports, but the number increased significantly to 542 in 2019 and 1,191 last year. Notably, 1,152 reports were filed from January to August this year, nearly reaching last year's level.

The increase in terrorism reports is attributed to the classification of drone-related reports as terrorism-related incidents starting in 2019. Drone-related reports numbered 84 in 2019, rising to 464 last year, and 566 through August this year, already surpassing last year's total.

The number of cases leading to formal charges rose from 32 in 2018 to 52 this year. Among these, cases involving suspicious object discovery reports that included illegal drone flight reports increased from 9 in 2019 to 31 this year.

Representative Park stated, "As drones become part of everyday life, incidents threatening citizen safety or infringing on privacy, such as illegal filming of residences, are occurring. Agencies including the National Police Agency should form a joint response council to establish proactive preventive measures against illegal flights that threaten public safety."