The Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. (Herald DB)
The Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. (Herald DB)

An Uzbek national who sent money to a terrorist organization in Syria while staying in South Korea has been sentenced to 16 months in prison, according to legal sources on Sunday.

The Seoul Central District Court found the defendant guilty of violating the Act on Counter-Terrorism for the Protection of Citizens and Public Security, ordering him to also pay 1.25 million won ($935).

The defendant had been studying at a Korean university’s language institute on a D-4-1 visa when he sent money to Katibat al-Tawhid wal-Jihad (KTJ), a United Nations-sanctioned terrorist organization composed primarily of Uzbek and Kyrgyz fighters.

KTJ is a militant jihadi group founded in December 2014. It has been linked to a 2015 suicide bombing in Al-Fu’ah, Syria, a 2016 suicide bombing at the Chinese Embassy in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and the 2017 Saint Petersburg metro bombing in Russia.

The court found that the defendant had been contacted by a KTJ member who identified himself as an Uzbek national fighting Syrian government forces and Russia, and transferred 1.25 million won to accounts designated by the member on six occasions between January 2024 and January 2025.

The court also found him guilty of attempting to transfer additional funds after the KTJ member asked him to receive money from another person in Korea and send it to Syria. The transfer was never completed.

“The defendant provided funds to support a terrorist organization despite knowing that the money would be used for terrorism,” the court said in its ruling.

The court added that the defendant’s actions were essential to sustaining the terrorist organization and posed a serious risk to international peace and public safety, regardless of the amount provided.

The court considered the defendant’s admission of guilt in determining his sentence.


seungku99@heraldcorp.com