Two Chinese Nationals Jailed for Recording Korean and US Air Bases

JAKARTA - Two Chinese nationals were sentenced to prison on Thursday for illegally recording fighter jets at several South Korean and US military facilities, as well as attempting to intercept traffic control communications.

The Suwon District Court sentenced an 18-year-old Chinese high school student to a fixed-term imprisonment of one and a half to two years and a 20-year-old Chinese man to two years, both for public treason, Kyodo News reported from Yonhap (15/5).

The sentence is not applied to minors based on the child law.

This is the first time a foreign national in South Korea has been found guilty of public treason under the Criminal Code.

The court also ordered the seizure of cameras and other items used in the crime.

The two men were arrested and charged with taking hundreds of detailed photos of fighter jets taking off and landing at major air bases across the country during several visits to South Korea between the second half of 2024 and March last year, when they were both high school students.

They are known to have visited four South Korean and US military facilities in Suwon, Osan, Pyeongtaek, and Cheongju, as well as three major international airports: Incheon, Gimpo and Jeju.

They were arrested by police in March last year after a resident reported them for illegally filming fighter jets taking off and landing at Suwon Air Base.

The court found the defendants guilty of all charges, saying they committed treason that could have harmed South Korea's military interests.

The court also said that a heavy sentence was appropriate because the photos revealed the status of aircraft deployment and the main mission of the air base, which seriously undermined national security.

In a separate case in Busan, Chinese nationals have been charged with illegally filming a US aircraft carrier, but a verdict has yet to be handed down.