“Break-in planned the day before”... Court finds premeditated conspiracy in Daejinyeon’s attempt to enter the Presidential Office

[Financial News] Of the 36 members of the Korean University Student Progressive Federation (Daejinyeon) who attempted to enter the Presidential Office while demanding, among other things, the resignation of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, 34 were found guilty in the first instance. The court ruled that they had decided on specific methods of carrying out the crime starting the day before, and that this was a joint crime committed pursuant to a prior conspiracy, not an “impulsive act.”
On the 22nd, the Seoul Western District Court’s Criminal Division 9 (Presiding Judge Minjung Kim) sentenced Gu, a Daejinyeon leader indicted on charges including violating the Act on the Punishment of Violent Acts, etc. (joint trespass into a residence) and obstructing general traffic, to four months in prison, suspended for one year. The court sentenced 32 other members to fines ranging from 1 million to 6 million won, deferred sentencing for one, and acquitted two.
Regarding the January 2024 attempt to enter the Presidential Office, the court rejected the defendants’ claim that there had been no conspiracy, saying, “The day before the crime, numerous participants gathered at the Daejinyeon office and decided in advance on specific methods of carrying it out.”
The court noted that three defendants who held leadership positions “actively encouraged members, including relatively young college students, to take part in the crime and were involved in the planning,” and “did not go to the scene themselves, but instead had other participants carry out the planned crime.”
The court also said the defendants’ trespass onto the Ministry of National Defense compound, where the Presidential Office is located, was “an act that infringes on the security order intended to protect the president and ensure the safety of key national facilities, and could pose a risk to national security,” adding that the offense was not minor.
At the earlier closing hearing, prosecutors sought prison terms of two to two and a half years for those who led the crime, and penalties ranging from a 5-million-won fine to one year and six months in prison for those who took a lesser role.
Daejinyeon members were indicted on charges including attempting to enter the Presidential Office after passing through a Ministry of National Defense gate near the office in Seoul’s Yongsan District in January and October 2024, while calling for former President Yoon’s resignation and a special counsel investigation into First Lady Kim Keon Hee. Some also faced charges of trespassing on U.S. Forces Korea facilities or obstructing military vehicles, in opposition to ROK-U.S. joint military exercises in 2022–2023.
Daejinyeon is a student group launched in March 2018 that has continued to hold rallies and demonstrations over issues including U.S. Forces Korea and ROK-U.S. joint military exercises.
The defendants argued that their actions were legitimate acts undertaken to express their political views, but the court rejected the argument, saying that, given the purpose and methods of the offenses, the means used were neither reasonable nor urgent.
However, the court took into account as a mitigating factor that the defendants did not go so far as to engage in violence, use dangerous objects, or damage property. Some charges of holding unreported outdoor rallies resulted in acquittals because the relevant legal provisions had ceased to be effective.
[email protected] Choi Seung-han Reporter