S. Korea Sentences 2 Chinese Nationals for Spying on Key Navy Base
The Busan District Court determined that the two defendants — one in their 30s, the other in their 40s — carried out nine separate illegal recording operations at the Busan naval base over a 15-month window stretching from March 2023 through June 2024, media reported.
The stiffer of the two sentences — 18 months behind bars — was handed to one defendant, while the other walked away with a one-year suspended term.
The surveillance campaign culminated in its most brazen act on June 25, 2024, when drones were dispatched over the installation during a high-profile visit by then-President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was on-site inspecting the docked US aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt.
On the question of charges, the elder defendant faced the more serious conviction of benefiting the enemy, while both were found to have breached South Korea's Military Bases and Installations Protection Act. The court confirmed that at the time of the offences, both individuals were residing in South Korea as students.
The bench was unequivocal in its assessment of the damage done. "The defendants caused significant danger to the military interests of the Republic of Korea by exposing information related to military installations," the court said.
One factor weighed in the defendants' favour: the court found no evidence that the seized imagery or recordings had been passed on to any hostile nation or organisation.
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