Eight students detained for attempting to enter US base in South Korea
During a protest in front of Osan Air Base, students argued that the US military presence in Gwangju is hindering a major chip production project.
12punto
Eight university students in South Korea have been detained for allegedly attempting to enter Osan Air Base, one of the main hubs for the US Air Force in the country. South Korean police and the US military announced that an investigation into the incident is ongoing.
The incident occurred on Tuesday during a protest in front of the base, located in Pyeongtaek, about 50 kilometers south of the capital, Seoul. The Korea Progressive University Student Union shared footage of the demonstration on its social media account.
In a statement, the US military said that eight individuals were detained after "attempting to illegally enter Osan Air Base through the main gate." According to the statement, the students were handed over to the South Korean National Police, who have taken over the processing of the case.
South Korean police reported that the students are being held in custody and have refused to provide statements during questioning. In a statement published on Facebook, the student group accused the US military of "obstructing" a planned chip production cluster project in Gwangju.
At the center of the controversy is a major semiconductor production hub planned for the site of the Gwangju Military Air Base in the south of the country. The project aims to create an investment area worth approximately 800 trillion won, or 485 billion euros, for South Korean chip manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.
The South Korean Presidential Office announced in July that Seoul and Washington had begun discussions regarding the relocation of the airport, a portion of which is used by the US military. The students' protest has brought criticism regarding the US military presence back to the agenda during this process.
The US maintains approximately 28,500 troops in South Korea to support the country's defense against potential military threats from North Korea. However, the American military presence remains a long-standing subject of debate among some segments of South Korean society.
A similar tension occurred in 2019, when approximately 20 South Korean students linked to a pro-North Korean group entered the residence of the US Ambassador to Seoul. Four of the students were arrested during that action.