In a bizarre incident in South Korea, two Chinese nationals were caught filming a military base in the country twice in two days. However, the two were let off easy on both occasions by the authorities, who stated they did not engage in any anti-state activity or espionage.
The two Chinese citizens were reported by the US military for taking pictures of aircraft close to the Osan Air Base, also known as K-55, on April 21. At the time, the two were caught filming parts of the base and military aircraft using an advanced camera.
Suspected of breaking the Military Facility Protection Act, the two were taken into custody. However, the Police released them, claiming there was no proof of “anti-state activity.”
“There were no signs of espionage in the photos,” a police official said at the time, as per JoongAng Daily. “They only captured fighter jets flying near the outer perimeter of the base, which doesn’t constitute a chargeable offence under the military base protection law.”
Two days later, the two of them were found lurking around the facility again. They were apprehended on April 23, following which they were probed for eight hours by the Defense Counterintelligence Command and the National Intelligence Service.
However, the authorities decided not to press charges once again, citing a lack of proof of anti-state activities. The specifics of the incident were not disclosed due to security concerns.
However, reports in local media noted that the men had taken pictures of aircraft flying overhead from public streets surrounding the facility using expensive camera equipment. This does not constitute an offense in South Korea because it is not illegal to take pictures of an aircraft in flight from an unrestricted location.
While South Korea has a strong espionage law, it may be toothless against Chinese nationals.
According to the Korea Times, Espionage in South Korea is punishable by death or at least seven years in jail, but only if the spying is done for North Korea. However, espionage for other nations, including China, is exempt from the same regulations.
An expert, Kim Yeoul-soo, a researcher at the Korea Institute for Military Affairs, told The Korea Times that this loophole has allowed Chinese nationals to escape punishment for such actions.
“Our laws are not keeping up, and that gap is creating opportunities for even more illicit activities,” he stated while expressing frustration.
Notably, the latest incident comes amid growing cases of espionage attributed to Chinese nationals globally, including in the United States, Taiwan, and Germany, to name a few. There have been multiple cases of ‘possible’ espionage in South Korea alone.
Possible Espionage In South Korea?
In March 2025, two Chinese teenagers were caught taking pictures of aircraft taking off and landing close to Suwon Air Base using DSLR cameras and smartphones.
Upon investigation, it was revealed that they had also taken thousands of photos at four military locations, including the US base in Pyeongtaek and an air base in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province.
At the time, both the kids claimed to be aviation enthusiasts. However, one of the kids told the authorities that his father worked for the Public Security Bureau in China, sparking rumours of espionage. The boy was booked for a formal investigation.
In July 2024, three Chinese students were apprehended by South Korea for illegally filming a visiting US aircraft carrier, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, using a drone. The incident occurred on June 25 that year when the carrier, which had arrived for a military drill, was docked near the Busan Operational Base of the Naval Operations Command in Yongho-dong, Nam-gu, Busan. The students were investigated for violating the Military Bases and Military Facilities Protection Act.
The drone hovered over the aircraft carrier for approximately five minutes before being detected by soldiers on patrol. The detained students claimed that their actions were driven by curiosity about the large aircraft carrier.
However, in December 2024, the Korea Joongang Daily reported that one of the three Chinese students may be a member of the Chinese Communist Party. The report stated that one of the students received the “excellent Communist Party member” recognition at a Chinese university in May 2021, and forensic examinations of his mobile phone revealed multiple Communist Party newsletters and contact information of public security officials.
In June 2024, another spying incident came to light when it was discovered that a civilian employee of the Defence Intelligence Command, one of the country’s top intelligence services, had given critical material to Chinese agents over the previous seven years.
In addition to South Korea, Chinese nationals have been apprehended elsewhere in the world on the grounds of potential espionage. For instance, a Chinese national named Fengyun Shi was charged by the US Department of Justice in June 2024 for taking pictures of a Virginia shipyard that builds nuclear submarines for the US Navy using a drone. The accused was a graduate student at the University of Minnesota.
Upon seizing the drone and analyzing its contents, law enforcement officials allegedly discovered incriminating images believed to have been taken at Newport News Shipyard and BAE Systems, both critical sites involved in the construction of naval vessels, including classified nuclear submarines.
Additionally, reports in April and May last year indicated that a Chinese drone was purportedly taking pictures and videos of the USS Ronald Reagan at Yokosuka Naval Base in Japan. These images fueled suspicions of espionage against US military activities. While a US Navy investigation did not find conclusive evidence of drone activity over Ronald Reagan, the incident raised concerns about Chinese spying.
At about the same time, images and videos of the Japanese helicopter destroyer JS Izumo anchored at the base and images of Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force facilities in Yokosuka surfaced. The Japanese Ministry of Defense confirmed the veracity of a video allegedly captured by a Chinese drone flying above the JS Izumo on May 9, 2024.
As previously explained in detail by the EurAsian Times, the Chinese spy network is augmented by thousands of Chinese expatriates, guest researchers, students, and businesspeople sending information back to their homeland. Several countries have expressed fear that China actively uses students as pawns to spy for it. Last year, Germany alleged that the People’s Republic of China had raised an army of spies to keep an eye on adversaries.
There is currently no way to determine whether all these incidents are related to spying or are harmless, as the South Korean Police recently stated. However, concerns continue to mount, with several quarters in South Korea calling for reform in espionage laws.
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