Graduate Student Who Flew Drone into North Korea Acquitted of Anti-State Charges, Convicted of Aviation Safety Act Violation

Graduate Student Receives Suspended Sentence in First Trial
"Uncertain Whether SD Card Was Installed... Cannot Conclude Information Was Leaked"

A graduate student who was prosecuted for flying a self-made drone into North Korea without permission has received a suspended prison sentence in the first trial.

A South Korean drone that crashed in Jangpung County, Kaesong City, as claimed by North Korea. Yonhap News Agency.

On September 16, the Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Agreements Division 38-3 (Presiding Judges Choi Younggak, Jang Seongjin, and Jeong Suyoung) sentenced Oh, a graduate student in his 30s charged with ordinary anti-state activity and violating the Aviation Safety Act, to eight months in prison with a two-year suspension. Two others who participated in the act were each sentenced to six months in prison, also with a two-year suspension.

Previously, from September last year to January this year, Oh and his accomplices were accused of sending civilian drones beyond the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) on four occasions, evading South Korea's air defense surveillance, and having the drones fly over the Kaesong area in North Korea to capture video footage.

Of the drones they operated, two crashed in North Korea and did not return. North Korea recovered the crashed drones, analyzed their data, and then issued a statement condemning South Korea based on the drones' flight history and video information.

During the sentencing hearing on September 2, prosecutors requested a five-year prison term for Oh and three years each for the other two participants.

Regarding the ordinary anti-state activity charge, the court acquitted the defendants, stating that it had not been proven that the drones in question were equipped with SD cards. The court pointed out that SD cards were not visible in the drone photos published by North Korea, and there were errors regarding the drones’ points of origin in the statement, suggesting North Korea may not have acquired the SD cards.

The court stated, "Without proof that an SD card was installed, it cannot be concluded that militarily useful information—such as flight patterns, posture, altitude, or records—was leaked to North Korea. Furthermore, simply providing North Korea with a pretext for provocation or the Republic of Korea initiating a military response does not, by itself, constitute a breach of the Republic of Korea’s military interests."

However, the court found the defendants guilty of violating the Aviation Safety Act for operating drones without reporting them to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. Taking into consideration the drone's specifications and the addition of components such as video recording devices, the court judged that the drone exceeded the mandatory 2kg reporting requirement. While drones made by research institutions for testing or research purposes may be exempt, the court found it difficult to conclude that applied in this case.

The court added, "The areas where the defendants flew the drones posed a significant threat to South Korea’s aviation safety, thus the risk and the level of culpability are very high. However, taking into account that the two accomplices confessed and that none of those involved had any prior criminal record, these factors have been considered in the sentencing."

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