Convicted on aviation safety charges; acquitted of general treason

A graduate student in his 30s, identified only by his surname Oh, arrives at Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu for a warrant review hearing in February. Oh faces charges of flying civilian drones across the MDL into the Kaesong area of North Korea, heightening inter-Korean tensions. [Yonhap]
A graduate student in his 30s, identified only by his surname Oh, arrives at Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu for a warrant review hearing in February. Oh faces charges of flying civilian drones across the MDL into the Kaesong area of North Korea, heightening inter-Korean tensions. [Yonhap]

A graduate student in his 30s who allegedly flew civilian drones across the military demarcation line (MDL) into the Kaesong area of North Korea — evading military air defense surveillance — received eight months in prison suspended for two years at his first trial.

The 38th Criminal Division of Seoul Central District Court sentenced the student, identified only by his surname Oh, to eight months in prison suspended for two years on Wednesday morning. Oh had been indicted on charges of general treason and violations of the Aviation Safety Act. The court handed down six-month sentences suspended for two years to drone manufacturers Jang and Kim, who were also charged in the case.

The court acquitted Oh on the general treason charge. "Unless it is proven that an SD card was installed in the drone, North Korea cannot realistically determine the flight path, pattern or information from a recovered crashed drone," the court said in explaining the acquittal. "It is therefore difficult to conclude that military interests were compromised."

However, the court found Oh guilty of violating the Aviation Safety Act. The court rejected Oh's argument that he was exempt from registration requirements because the drones were built for research and development. "At the time the drones were operated, he had not received official support from a university or similar institution, there are grounds to conclude he was not acting as the principal operator in the manufacturing and operation of the drones, and the operation must be regarded as being for commercial purposes," the court said.

Oh is accused of working with Jang and Kim to fly civilian drones across the MDL on four separate occasions between September last year and January this year, evading military air defense surveillance and filming footage over the Kaesong area of North Korea.

Two drones Oh launched — in September last year and in January this year — crashed in North Korea. After recovering the aircraft, North Korea issued a statement of criticism based on the drones' flight records and video data. The incidents were assessed to have heightened military tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

A joint military-police investigation task force had earlier investigated Oh and the others and referred them to prosecutors on charges including general treason. Oh was sent to prosecutors in custody, while Jang and Kim were referred without detention. The task force determined that Oh, Jang and Kim had established a drone manufacturing company called Estel Engineering, holding the titles of inside director, chief executive and North Korea affairs director, respectively.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office's Public Investigation Division 1, which took over the case, indicted Oh in custody in March and referred Jang and Kim to trial without detention. Oh applied for bail, requesting that he be tried without detention, but the court rejected the application, citing concerns about flight risk and destruction of evidence.

At the final hearing on Sept. 2, prosecutors asked the court to sentence Oh to five years in prison and Jang and Kim to three years each.

Meanwhile, Oh and the others face additional charges of violating the Aviation Safety Act by assembling drones using a styrofoam airframe weighing more than 4.5 kilograms fitted with components including a receiver, GPS unit and battery. The first hearing in that separate case was held Tuesday at Seoul Central District Court before a single judge in the criminal division.


bell@heraldcorp.com