Three College Students Arrested for Trespassing at U.S. K-55 Air Base; Warrant Denied for One

Gyeonggi Pyeongtaek Police Station announced today (August 6) that they have arrested three members of the Korea University Students Progressive Union (Daejinyeon), including an individual identified as A, on charges of unlawfully entering a U.S. military base in South Korea.

According to police, the suspects ran through the main gate of Osan Air Base (K-55), a U.S. military facility in Pyeongtaek, at around 10:15 a.m. on August 4, shouting slogans such as "Let's crush the U.S. 7th Air Force disrupting the Honam semiconductor" while filming the incident on video.

Authorities determined that a total of eight individuals—four men and four women—infiltrated the base at the time.

The U.S. military apprehended them at the scene and handed their custody over to the South Korean police.

Police applied for arrest warrants for four of the individuals, including A, deeming their charges to be severe, and released the remaining four.

It was reported that A and the others exercised their right to remain silent during police questioning.

The Military Base Act stipulates that anyone who trespasses into a controlled zone of a military facility is subject to imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of up to 10 million won.

It also specifies that anyone who engages in filming, depiction, recording, or surveying can face up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won.

The Pyeongtaek Branch of the Suwon District Court held a pre-trial detention hearing (warrant substantive examination) for the four individuals, including A, this afternoon and issued arrest warrants for three of them.

The warrant for the remaining one was dismissed, with the court stating that "an exception to non-detention investigation cannot be recognized."

Police plan to wrap up the investigation into the suspects in custody and forward them to the prosecution, while continuing to investigate the suspects who were not detained.

(Photo: Internet screen capture, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.