Chinese Nationals Under Investigation for Filming Military Facilities in South Korea

On June 25, three Chinese nationals were caught using a drone to film the U.S. aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and South Korean military facilities near a naval base in Busan. As of June 26, police are considering applying charges of aiding an enemy (이적) against them, having initially investigated them for violating military base protection laws. Evidence has emerged that these individuals filmed South Korean military sites hundreds of times over the past two years, raising suspicions of their potential connections to Chinese authorities and the possibility that they may be spies.

A police official stated, "Even if it is revealed during further investigations that they were acting under the direction of Chinese authorities to film U.S.-South Korea military facilities and equipment, it is difficult to prosecute them under the current espionage laws. Therefore, we are considering applying the aiding an enemy charge." The existing espionage law (Article 98 of the Criminal Code) only targets espionage activities conducted for an 'enemy state,' which, according to Supreme Court precedents, is defined solely as North Korea. Under current law, passing state secrets to any country other than North Korea cannot be prosecuted as espionage. The penalties for espionage can range from a minimum of seven years in prison to the death penalty. Although a proposed amendment to the espionage law that would redefine 'enemy state' to 'foreign country' has passed a subcommittee in the National Assembly, it cannot be retroactively applied to this case.

Article 99 of the Criminal Code states that anyone who harms South Korea's military interests or provides military benefits to an enemy state can face a prison sentence of three years or more, or even life imprisonment. In contrast, violations of the military base protection law carry a maximum penalty of three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won. There is considerable internal discussion within the police about the potential for this incident to escalate into a broader issue of 'security threat operations' by the Chinese government, which has led to strong opinions advocating for the application of the aiding an enemy charge.

The Chinese students are accused of filming the USS Theodore Roosevelt for over five minutes. They claimed it was out of curiosity, but over 500 photographs of military facilities were found on their phones and laptops. Additionally, their phones contained contacts believed to be associated with Chinese authorities.