[Herald DB]
[Herald DB]

A graduate student indicted on charges of flying civilian drones into North Korea without authorization has had his bail request denied. The court cited risks of flight and destruction of evidence.

The 38th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court — presided over by judges Choi Yeong-gak, Jang Seong-jin and Jeong Su-yeong — rejected the bail application filed by the student, identified only by his surname Oh, who faces charges including general treason.

Oh filed for bail on Thursday, July 2, and the court held a closed-door bail hearing on Wednesday. The panel determined he posed a risk of both destroying evidence and fleeing.

Oh was indicted in March after allegedly sending civilian drones across the military demarcation line four times between September last year and January this year, evading South Korean military air-defense surveillance and capturing video footage over the Kaesong area of North Korea.

Two co-defendants — identified by their surnames Jang and Kim — were indicted without detention on charges of participating in the operation. Two of the drones they launched failed to return and crashed in North Korea.

North Korea recovered the downed aircraft and their SD cards, analyzed the data, and issued a statement condemning the incident based on the drones' flight records and video footage.


th5@heraldcorp.com