Chinese international students who illegally filmed U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and other military vessels at a South Korean naval base using drones have been indicted on charges of general espionage. This is the first time that foreign nationals have been indicted and detained for threatening South Korea's military security.
According to the legal community on July 25, the Busan District Prosecutors' Office recently indicted a Chinese international student in his 40s, referred to as A, on charges including general espionage, and also indicted another Chinese man in his 30s, referred to as B, for violating the Military Bases and Installations Protection Act. From March 2023 to June 2024, they are accused of illegally filming the area around the Naval Operations Command and U.S. Navy aircraft carriers, including the USS Theodore Roosevelt, docked at the naval base, using Chinese-made drones and personal mobile phones on nine occasions.
On the last day of their crimes, June 25, 2024, then-President Yoon Suk-yeol visited the USS Roosevelt, inspected the vessel, and met with South Korean and U.S. military personnel to offer encouragement. On that day as well, the suspects flew a drone and conducted illegal filming. The illegal footage consisted of 172 photographs and 22 videos, totaling 11.9 gigabytes, and some of this material was distributed without authorization via Chinese social media platforms such as TikTok.
General espionage is specified in Chapter 2, Article 99 of the Criminal Act, which states: "Anyone who harms the military interests of the Republic of Korea or provides military benefits to an enemy state shall be punished by imprisonment for life or for not less than three years."
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