Korean Court Gives Suspended Sentences and Small Fines to Protesters Who Trespassed on U.S. Military Base
These slap on the hand sentences will do nothing to deter future illegal protests. These people should be jailed to send a message:
A court on Thursday found 34 student activists guilty of trespassing on the then presidential compound and a U.S. military base between 2022 and 2024.
The Seoul Western District Court sentenced a senior leader of the Korean Progressive University Student Union (KPUSU) to a suspended four-month prison term and ordered 32 other members to pay fines ranging from 1 million won (US$756) to 6 million won. One other member received a deferred sentence of a 1 million-won fine.
Two others were indicted but acquitted.
The students faced multiple charges, including trespassing on a U.S. military installation in South Korea in August 2022 and March 2023 to stage rallies against joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States.
In January and October 2024, they attempted to illegally enter what was then the presidential compound in Seoul’s Yongsan Ward to demand the resignation of then President Yoon Suk Yeol and a special counsel investigation into then first lady Kim Keon Hee.
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