Prosecution Indicts Drone Company Officials for Four Unauthorized North Korea Flights: "National Security Crime"

Flights Over Kaesong Area for Business Profit

Two Drones Crashed in North Korea

Charged with Anti-State Activities and Aviation Safety Act Violations

The prosecution has brought to trial officials from a drone manufacturing company who flew drones over the Kaesong area in North Korea on four separate occasions without authorization, allegedly for business profit. Some of these drones crashed in North Korea, and it was found that North Korea retrieved them and issued a statement about the incident.

On the 9th, the flag of South Korea and the prosecution's flag flutter in the wind in front of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office building, where former Special Warfare Commander Kwak Junggeun is reportedly being summoned and investigated by the Emergency Martial Law Special Investigation Headquarters. Photo by Ha Younghan

On March 25, the First Public Security Division of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (headed by Chief Prosecutor Yoon Sujeong) announced that it had indicted Mr. Oh, a director at the drone manufacturing and sales company Estel Engineering, on charges of general anti-state activities and violation of the Aviation Safety Act. The company’s CEO, Mr. Jang, and Director of North Korea Affairs, Mr. Kim, were indicted without detention.

According to the prosecution, from September 27 of last year to January 4 of this year, these individuals are accused of sending civilian drones across the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) into the Kaesong area of North Korea and other regions on four occasions, and having the drones record video footage.

According to the results of a joint military-police investigation task force, it was confirmed that the drones were launched from Ganghwa Island in Incheon, set to pass through Kaesong City and Pyongsan County in North Korea, and then return to Paju City in Gyeonggi Province, in order to test the drones' performance. The prosecution believes that these acts were committed for the purpose of gaining economic profit through the drone business.

Of these, two drones crashed in North Korea and did not return to the South. North Korea retrieved the bodies and SD cards of the drones, analyzed the data, and on January 10 issued a statement based on the drones’ flight logs (latitude, longitude, altitude) and video information.

Regarding the previously referred charge of violating the Act on the Protection of Military Bases and Installations, the prosecution found no objective evidence to prove that South Korean military bases or facilities were filmed, and thus dropped the charge due to insufficient evidence.

The prosecution stated, "We will thoroughly prove in court that unauthorized flights of civilian drones across the Military Demarcation Line into North Korean territory constitute a national security crime that infringes upon the military interests of the Republic of Korea, which is preparing against various military provocations such as low-altitude infiltration threats from North Korea."

Previously, on February 26, the court issued a detention warrant for Mr. Oh, citing concerns over destruction of evidence and flight risk. Mr. Oh's side appealed the detention, but the court dismissed the appeal on March 11.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.