US military representatives detained four boys and four girls after they allegedly entered the Osan Air Force Base near the capital Seoul. They were later handed over to South Korean officials, police reported.
Read more In Vilnius district, a man is suspected of killing his partner
An investigation has been launched under South Korea’s military facility protection law, police said, adding that all detainees exercised their right to remain silent during questioning.
The US military statement said the group tried to illegally enter the base through the main gate and that “illegal attempts to enter a US military facility are taken very seriously.”
The incident will be handled according to applicable US and South Korean laws and procedures, the military said.
The Korean Progressive University Students’ Union said in a statement posted on the social network “Facebook” that the detainees are its members who tried to protest against, according to them, the US military’s resistance to the South Korean semiconductor cluster project.
South Korean police declined to comment on the group’s statement, to which the US military did not respond.
Read more Russia dropped 2 aviation bombs right on the center of Kramatorsk
The news agency “Yonhap” reported that the US said it has important interests in the military airport planned to be relocated due to the mentioned semiconductor project.
About 28,500 US troops are deployed in South Korea to help deter North Korea from possible aggression – a legacy of the 1950–1953 Korean War, which ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.
Surveys consistently show that most South Korean residents support the US-South Korea military alliance, but the presence of US troops and their role in South Korea’s turbulent modern history have also long sparked anti-American sentiments among many of the country’s residents.
In 2019, South Korean police detained four students who broke into the US ambassador’s residence in Seoul to protest the then US President Donald Trump’s administration’s demands that the country pay more and help cover the costs of US troops stationed there.
Read more Poland’s «Żabka» confirmed to have become a victim of a cyber attack
