Korean student, drone company officials get suspended

. A South Korean graduate student and two drone company officials received suspended prison sentences for flying commercial drones across the inter-Korean border into the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Wednesday.



The Seoul Central District Court sentenced the graduate student, surnamed Oh, to eight months in prison suspended for two years. Oh, who had been detained prior to the trial, will be released following the ruling.



The court also sentenced two officials of a domestic commercial drone manufacturer, each to six months in prison suspended for two years.



Prosecutors sought a five-year prison sentence for Oh and three-year sentences each for the two officials.



The trio was accused of illegally flying commercial drones across the military demarcation line into the DPRK's border town of Kaesong on four separate occasions between September 2025 and January 2026 to film facilities in the Kaesong region.



The cross-border flights sharply escalated military tensions after two of the drones crashed inside DPRK territory, prompting Pyongyang to recover the wreckage and issue condemnations against Seoul.



The court acquitted the defendants of the heavier charge of aiding the enemy, stating that it cannot be conclusively said that the flights harmed South Korea's military interests.



However, the trio was found guilty of violating the Aviation Safety Act for flying unregistered drones in a restricted border area without authorization.