What sentences did the Seoul Western District Court impose on the student activists convicted of trespassing?

A senior Korean Progressive University Student Union leader received a suspended four-month prison term. Thirty-two members were fined between 1 million won ($756) and 6 million won, one member received a deferred 1 million-won fine, and two other defendants were acquitted.

Why did the student activists enter the U.S. military base and attempt to enter the presidential compound?

They entered the U.S. military installation to stage rallies against joint military exercises between Korea and the United States. At the presidential compound, they sought then President Yoon Suk Yeol’s resignation and a special counsel investigation into then first lady Kim Keon Hee.

What reasons did the court give for finding the student activists’ trespassing actions serious?

The court said the defendants had conspired in advance, citing their shared picket signs and discussions of specific execution plans. It also said their actions could have threatened national security because the presidential office was on the same compound as the defense ministry.

34 student activists convicted of illegal entry into presidential compound, US base

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Summary

The Seoul Western District Court on Thursday convicted 34 student activists of trespassing at the then presidential compound and a U.S. military base between 2022 and 2024. It gave a senior Korean Progressive University Student Union leader a suspended four-month prison term, fined 32 members, and deferred a fine for another member; two other defendants were acquitted. The court said the activists had planned their actions in advance and that the conduct could have threatened national security. It also said freedom of expression and assembly should be exercised within the legal order.

Key Facts

The fines for 32 members ranged from 1 million won ($756) to 6 million won, while one member received a deferred sentence of a 1 million-won fine.
The U.S. military installation trespasses occurred in August 2022 and March 2023 during rallies against joint military exercises between Korea and the United States.
The attempted entries into the presidential compound took place in January and October 2024, with activists demanding then President Yoon Suk Yeol’s resignation and a special counsel investigation into then first lady Kim Keon Hee.
The court cited shared picket signs with the same slogans and discussions of specific execution plans as evidence that the actions were planned in advance.
The court noted that the presidential office was located on the same compound as the defense ministry.

By Yonhap

Published Oct 22, 2026 5:52 pm KST

Korean Progressive University Student Union (KPUSU) members are stopped by the police on their way to the US Embassy in Korea to deliver a formal letter of complaint against Korea-US joint military drills, March 6. Korea Times photo by Park Si-mon

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 ($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 Korea in August 2022 and March 2023 to stage rallies against joint military exercises between 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.

The court ruled that the defendants did not act on impulse but conspired in advance, such as by sharing picket signs with the same slogans before entering the U.S. base and gathering at an office to discuss specific execution plans ahead of their attempted entry into the presidential compound.

The court said their actions could have posed a threat to national security as the presidential office was located on the same compound as the defense ministry.

It further noted that while freedom of expression and assembly is guaranteed as fundamental rights, it is desirable that such rights are exercised within the framework of the legal order.

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