A small group of radical leftist activists identified as being members of the Korean Progressive University Student Union were detained on Tuesday after attempting to storm the K-55 Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, an American Air Force site.
The organization had advertised a protest action at the air base shortly before their arrival and published videos that appeared to show them scattering as authorities arrived. Messages online indicated that they intended to protest an alleged leak of white phosphorus at the base and also America’s alleged opposition to the construction of a proposed massive semiconductor industrial complex. In reality, the administration of President Donald Trump is not overtly challenging the project, but the site chosen for the industrial complex is reportedly near American military activity and thus Seoul must coordinate with Washington to readjust the land use permissions around it.
According to the South Korean newswire service Yonhap, police arrested eight people identified as “liberal student activists” after they “rushed the compound.” No reports indicate that those arrested managed to cause any damage to the site.
The activists were reportedly shouting anti-American slogans, including, “Let us destroy the U.S. 7th Air Force,” the contingent operating at the targeted air base. Two were arrested after illicitly breaching the gates of the base, while the other six were arrested while attempting to break in. The conservative newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported the motive of the attack as attempting to “demand a thorough investigation into the recent white phosphorus leak incident at the U.S. military base” in its English-language coverage. Its Korean-language edition also mentioned the proposed “Honam semiconductor industrial complex,” which the South Korean left is claiming the United States opposes.
These reports are consistent with the social media content the student organization posted in the immediate moments prior to the protest. Members of the organization published videos online appearing to show them holding up anti-American signs and one ominous video in which the person holding the camera runs away, presumably from authorities.
In a statement posted to Instagram, the Korean Progressive Student Union announced its protest at the air base, accusing the U.S. military of a phosphorus leak on July 28. Furthermore, the organization claimed that the U.S. Air Force was actively attempting to derail the semiconductor project.
“We ask for the public’s support. Let us crush the U.S. 7th Air Force for picking a fight over the Honam semiconductor project!” the statement read. “The nation’s victory through sovereignty is absolute and non-negotiable.”
In comments elsewhere on Instagram, the Progressive Student Union has repeatedly made its anti-American stance clear.
We must fight hard to ensure South Korea is not exploited by the war schemes of the two imperialist powers: the U.S. and Japan,” the group urged on August 1.
Yonhap reported that South Korean police are planning to open an investigation into the airbase attackers pursuant to potential violations of the Military Installations Protection Act.
The targeting of the base in relation to the proposed Honam semiconductor industrial complex appears to be the result of reports indicating that the South Korean government of leftist President Lee Jae-myung may seek to use military property currently in use by the U.S. armed forces for the project. Last week, Chosun reported that the Korea Land & Housing Corporation (LH) had begun the survey and design process for the massive factory project, which the Lee government is reportedly prioritizing. The newspaper described the complex as “one of the government’s core national agenda items.”
The Korean Land Ministry reportedly chose a military airport site in Gwangju as a candidate location for the semiconductor factory. Business Korea noted in early July that the selection of a military site means that the United States would have to be consulted on any final decisions.
“Although the U.S. Air Force is not permanently stationed at the Gwangju military airport during peacetime,” it explained, “it is one of the five South Korea-U.S. collocated operating bases in the country where U.S. aviation assets are deployed in an emergency.”
In an opinion piece last week, Chosun suggested that the United States would not support the project because the administration of President Trump is seeking to bring more manufacturing to the United States, citing a comment by Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick expressing hope to see more manufacturing in America by major Korean companies such as Samsung and SK. The potential for the United States to prefer American workers get potential jobs rather than those abroad has not yet translated to any concrete, public opposition to the project, however, as the Progressive Student Union attempted to depict.
Menacing leftist “protest” actions are uncommon in South Korea, which has experienced massive waves of conservative assemblies in the years following the impeachment and removal of conservative former President Yoon Suk-yeol, Lee’s predecessor. Lee has been vocal in condemning conservative protesters, particularly those concerned about undue Chinese communist influence in politics, and has suggested censorship on YouTube and other social media outlets to prevent the spread of alleged “fake news.” At press time, the Korean government does not appear to have acted to censor or limit the reach of the Progressive Student Union’s messages.
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