Key facts
- Police requested arrest warrants for four student activists for allegedly trespassing on K-55 Osan Air Base.
- Eight members of the Korean Progressive University Student Union attempted to breach the base.
- Six activists entered the compound, and U.S. Forces Korea detained them.
- The activists protested alleged U.S. military interference in a semiconductor project and a white phosphorous leak.
- An arrest warrant hearing was scheduled for Thursday.
Police in South Korea have requested arrest warrants for four student activists who allegedly trespassed onto a U.S. air base earlier this week. The incident occurred on Tuesday when eight members of the Korean Progressive University Student Union attempted to breach the main gate of the K-55 Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, located approximately 60 kilometers south of Seoul.
Six of the activists managed to enter the compound, while the remaining two were stopped at the entrance. U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) detained the students on-site and subsequently handed them over to the Pyeongtaek Police Station. Four of the activists were placed in custody, with the other four being released.
The four detained activists are alleged to have filmed themselves chanting anti-U.S. slogans directed at the 7th Air Force. They accused the U.S. military of interfering in a semiconductor cluster project in Gwangju by raising concerns about its impact on U.S. military interests. The group also protested a recent white phosphorous leak at the base.
The Suwon District Court's Pyeongtaek branch has scheduled an arrest warrant hearing for Thursday, with a decision expected by the evening.