A Chinese high school student in his teens and others who secretly filmed fighter jets and facilities while visiting regional Air Force bases and major airports, and attempted to intercept communications, were sentenced to prison on charges of "general aiding the enemy." It is the first time a foreigner has been convicted of general aiding the enemy.
The Criminal Division 12 of the Suwon District Court (Presiding Judge Park Geon-chang) on the 14th sentenced A, an 18-year-old Chinese national high school student indicted on charges including secretly filming fighter jets and facilities at the Suwon, Pyeongtaek and Cheongju Air Force bases, to an indeterminate term of two years at the maximum and one year and six months at the minimum, and sentenced accomplice B, 20, to two years in prison. However, A received an indeterminate sentence under the Juvenile Act. If A shows good behavior in custody, A can serve only the minimum term and be released.
The charge of general aiding the enemy under the Criminal Act refers to acts that harm Korea's military interests or provide military benefits to an enemy state or an equivalent counterpart. If convicted, the sentence is life imprisonment or at least three years in prison.
The court found that "the defendants conspired to intercept communications between air traffic controllers and pilots and filmed military aircraft at Osan Air Base, among other places, which are acts aiding the enemy that could infringe Korea's military interests." The court also said, "Considering the contents of their WeChat (a Chinese mobile messenger app) conversations, their entry into the country, and their domestic travel routes, a conspiratorial relationship between the defendants is recognized."
A and others are accused of filming fighter jets taking off and landing, control facilities, and more at domestic major Air Force bases and international airports from the second half of 2024 to March last year. A and others, who entered on tourist visas, were found to have taken hundreds of photos of Air Force-related equipment and facilities with a DSLR camera equipped with a telephoto lens and with mobile phones.
The places they visited include four military facilities—Suwon Air Base in Gyeonggi; Osan Air Base (K-55) in Pyeongtaek; the U.S. military base in Pyeongtaek (K-6); and Cheongju Air Base in North Chungcheong—as well as Incheon, Gimpo and Jeju airports.
They are also accused of attempting twice to intercept communications between controllers and fighter pilots using Chinese-made walkie-talkies. However, it was found that the walkie-talkies did not properly capture the frequencies, so no actual interception occurred.
Earlier, on Mar. 21 last year in the afternoon, A and others were caught by police who responded to a report while they were secretly filming F-16 fighter jets and more taking off and landing near the 10th Fighter Wing in Suwon. Police initially booked them on charges of violating the Protection of Military Bases and Installations Act, but during the investigation applied the charge of general aiding the enemy.
In court, A and others reportedly denied the charges, saying they have a hobby of taking photos of airplanes and that it was an immature act driven by children's curiosity.