Graduate Student Accused of Flying North Korean Drones Argues "Unfair to Apply 'General Acts Benefiting the Enemy' Not Even Charged Against Drone Commander"

Court: "Key Issues Are Military Interest Harm and Intent"

A graduate student in his 30s, Mr. Oh, who is suspected of sending unmanned aerial vehicles to North Korea to escalate inter-Korean tensions, is entering the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on February 26 to undergo a pre-arrest suspect interrogation (warrant review). Photo by Yonhap News Agency

There was an argument in court that it is unfair to apply the charge of "general acts benefiting the enemy" to civilian defendants, even though this charge was not applied to military commanders who directed the drone operation in Pyongyang.

During the first preliminary hearing held on May 6, presided over by Chief Judge Choi Younggak of the Criminal Division 38-3 at the Seoul Central District Court, the defense attorney for graduate student Oh, who has been indicted on charges of general acts benefiting the enemy and violations of the Aviation Safety Act, argued that the charges were unjustly applied.

Oh's attorney stated, "In the case of former Drone Operations Commander Kim Yongdae, even though he was the person who actually ordered the drone flights, he was only indicted on charges such as abuse of authority and incitement to destroy military supplies, and the charge of general acts benefiting the enemy was not applied. It is difficult to understand why this charge, which was not even asked of the commander who conducted the military operation, is being applied to civilian defendants."

The attorney also requested access to related records, saying, "The reason why former Commander Kim was not indicted for general acts benefiting the enemy may be included in the relevant investigation report."

The charge of general acts benefiting the enemy is stipulated in Article 99 of the Criminal Act. It stipulates that those who harm the military interests of the Republic of Korea or provide military benefits to an enemy state shall be punished by imprisonment for life or for not less than three years.

Oh and others are accused of flying civilian drones beyond the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) into the Kaesong area of North Korea a total of four times for business purposes from September 2025 to January 2026. Prosecutors believe that their act of photographing North Korean areas while evading our military's air defense network constitutes an act benefiting the enemy.

In future trials, the court plans to focus on determining (1) whether the defendants' actions caused substantial harm to military interests, and (2) whether there was intent to benefit the enemy.

The court will hold one more preliminary hearing on May 20, followed by the examination of documentary evidence on May 27, and plans to begin full witness testimony from June 5.

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