South Korean College Student Jailed for Attempting to Join ISIS

A South Korean court on Tuesday sentenced an 18-year-old college student to prison after finding him guilty of attempting to join the extremist militant group ISIS while he was still in high school.

The Cheongju District Court imposed an indeterminate term of between one year and 18 months, according to court officials. The student’s identity was withheld. The ruling found him guilty of violating South Korea’s anti-terrorism law.

The case centered on activity that allegedly took place from November 2024 through February 2026. During that period, the student watched propaganda materials on an encrypted online platform operated by a group affiliated with ISIS and pledged allegiance to the organization.

Court officials said he was charged with attempting to join ISIS after engaging with those materials and making the pledge. Investigators also suspected him of receiving bomb-making instructions from a contact linked to the organization.

The student was further suspected of drawing up a bombing plan targeting government forces in Mozambique and asking ISIS to evaluate the proposed attack, officials said. The account presented by authorities did not indicate that an attack was carried out.

The sentence is indeterminate, meaning the court set both a minimum and maximum period rather than a single fixed term. In this case, the student could serve at least one year and up to one year and six months under the court’s order.

The judgment brings criminal penalties in a case involving online extremist propaganda, encrypted communications and an alleged effort to move beyond consuming material toward direct affiliation. The conduct described by officials began while the defendant was a high school student, although he was identified as a college student at the time of Tuesday’s sentencing.

The proceedings took place in Cheongju, a city in North Chungcheong Province. Authorities did not publicly identify the student, and the available court account did not provide further details about how investigators discovered the activity, whether the defendant had legal representation or whether he plans to appeal.

The ruling focused on the attempted ISIS affiliation and the anti-terrorism law violation. Any further legal proceedings would determine whether the sentence or findings are challenged.