8 students arrested during protest against US military presence in South Korea

SEOUL, Aug. 05 (YPA) – South Korean authorities arrested eight university students, including four female and four male, after they attempted to enter the US Osan Air Base near Seoul to stage a protest against the US military presence.

US forces stopped them at the base entrance and handed them over to the police, who opened an investigation against them for violating the law protecting military installations, while they remained silent during questioning.

The protesters chanted slogans demanding the disbandment of the US Seventh Air Force.

The Progressive Students’ Union said the protest was in response to the US military’s stance on the semiconductor complex project. Yonhap reported that Washington considers the relocation of the military airport within the project a strategic matter, which has reignited the debate about the extent of the US presence of approximately 28,500 troops in the country.