[2020 National Audit] "Filming Music Videos and Real Estate"… Drones at Blue House and DMZ Increased Threefold

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] The number of drones appearing without approval in the Seoul metropolitan area no-fly zone, including the Blue House, and near the Korean Tactical Area (the Demilitarized Zone) has tripled over the past three years.

According to data submitted on the 9th by the Ministry of National Defense to Song Seok-jun, a member of the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee from the People Power Party, unauthorized drone flights in the metropolitan area no-fly zone and near the Korean Tactical Area (DMZ) increased from 15 cases in 2018 to 28 cases last year, nearly doubling, and as of the end of last month, the number reached 43 cases.

Among these, cases of drones being flown without approval in the metropolitan area no-fly zone were 13 in 2018, 25 in 2019, and 39 in 2020, tripling over the past three years.

Additionally, cases of drones being flown near the Korean Tactical Area (DMZ) were 2 in 2018, 3 in 2019, and 4 in 2020, doubling over the past three years.

From last year to this year, the reasons for flying drones in no-fly zones were mostly for leisure flights with 25 cases (39%), followed by test flights with 13 cases (20.3%), filming for broadcasting programs with 8 cases (12.5%), and shooting promotional videos with 6 cases (9.4%).

Among the reasons for flying drones, there were cases caught filming music videos, real estate companies filming property status, filming to estimate construction site costs, and flying drones to install signboards.

Representative Song said, "The metropolitan area no-fly zone includes key national institutions such as the Blue House, and the Korean Tactical Area is a militarily sensitive region near the Demilitarized Zone," adding, "It is necessary to refrain from flying drones in areas important for national security."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.