Two Chinese international students who illegally filmed the U.S. Navy aircraft carrier visiting Korea and our naval base related to the South Korea-U.S.-Japan joint military exercises have been arrested. The main perpetrator was charged with general treason, marking the first time a foreigner has been arrested on these charges.
They were confirmed to have posted the photos and videos on Chinese social media (SNS).
The Busan police agency announced on the 26th that it had arrested a Chinese national student, Mr. A, on charges of violating military base laws and general treason. Mr. B was arrested for violating military base laws, and another student, Mr. C, who participated in the drone filming with them, was charged without detention.
They launched drones nine times from March 2023 to June 2024, capturing 172 photos and 22 videos in the area of the Busan Naval Operations Command. The filming subjects included the USS Theodore Roosevelt (a 100,000-ton class aircraft carrier) participating in the South Korea-U.S.-Japan joint exercises, as well as some footage of former President Yoon Suk-yeol's inspection.
In particular, on June 25 of last year, when former President Yoon visited the Roosevelt to encourage the soldiers, they were caught on-site by military personnel while launching drones from a nearby hillside and were handed over to the police.
A police official stated, "The act of illegally filming South Korea-U.S. military bases and facilities over an extended period and distributing that information online, allowing military information to be transmitted abroad," and noted, "We deemed this a significant national security threat and conducted an investigation in active cooperation with the Busan District Prosecutor's Office, the National Intelligence Service Busan branch, and counterintelligence agencies."
He added, "The act of illegal filming of military facilities and unauthorized distribution on the internet poses a serious threat to national security," and stated, "We plan to conduct a strict investigation."