Three individuals, including a National Intelligence Service (NIS) employee and an active-duty soldier, were handed over to prosecutors for allegedly assisting a civilian in launching drones multiple times into North Korea.
The military-civilian joint investigation task force (TF) reported that the NIS employee, referred to as A, was sent to prosecutors without detention on charges of aiding general defection and violating aviation safety laws. Soldier B, affiliated with the intelligence command, faces charges of aiding violations of aviation safety laws, while soldier C, from a regular unit, is accused of aiding general defection and violating aviation safety laws.
A is currently employed in the administrative support department of the NIS and has been friends with the main civilian suspect, identified as Oh, for over ten years, maintaining close contact until recently.
The TF believes that A was aware of the civilians’ drone production and related business operations, providing a total of 2.9 million KRW (approximately 1,920 USD) for drone manufacturing costs and expenses for test flights.
Additionally, on the day the civilians first launched a drone into North Korea, A attempted to identify unusual activities by the NIS, indicating further involvement in the civilians’ criminal actions. Consequently, charges of general defection and aiding violations of aviation safety laws were applied.
Soldier B contacted Oh for work-related purposes and, despite recognizing the legality issues of the footage taken by Oh in North Korea, received the video materials under the pretense of military duties, thereby allegedly assisting Oh in carrying out the drone flights.
However, the TF stated that B ceased related reviews after December 2025 and had no further contact with Oh. As a result, no direct correlation was established between B’s actions and the drone flight into North Korea on January 4, 2026, leading to the decision not to apply charges of aiding general defection.
Furthermore, another officer from the intelligence command, who was also charged alongside B, contacted the civilian suspects for work-related purposes. However, the investigation concluded that this interaction was unrelated to drone operations, and there was no objective evidence to suggest involvement in the civilians’ criminal acts, leading to a recommendation for non-prosecution.
A TF official explained that extensive investigations were conducted to verify allegations related to the intelligence command, but no additional involvement in the civilian drone incident was found.
Additionally, the TF identified soldier C, who accompanied the civilians during their drone operations into North Korea, as having assisted in their general defection activities by evaluating the value of the footage taken in North Korea. Consequently, charges of aiding general defection and violating aviation safety laws were applied against C.
The TF announced its conclusion of operations on the same day. It plans to continue collaborating with the police and the Ministry of National Defense’s investigation headquarters on the cases transferred and will support the maintenance of prosecutions.
Moreover, to prevent similar incidents that could significantly compromise national interests, the TF will actively support follow-up measures, including sharing necessary information with relevant agencies.
To clarify the circumstances surrounding the drone incident, the TF conducted a joint military and police investigation for 79 days, starting January 12.
On March 6, three civilians involved in flying drones were initially handed over to prosecutors. Following this, the investigation identified NIS employees and active-duty soldiers involved in the incident, leading to additional transfers of three individuals after searches of NIS and intelligence command facilities.