USFK incidents prompt Korean protest

Recent misbehavior against South Koreans by U.S. soldiers has angered some locals and civic groups, prompted calls for withdrawal of the 32,500-strong U.S. presence in the country.

About 40 South Korean civic activists staged a rally in front of the 2nd U.S. Infantry Division headquarters north of Seoul on Saturday, demanding that U.S. soldiers involved in assaults be punished in local courts.

The rally came after three U.S. soldiers attacked a South Korean pedestrian in Uijeongbu with a beer bottle before further assaulting him and his friend on July 3.

Aggravating the situation, a son of a U.S. soldier allegedly threw a glass liquor bottle at a passing bus in Seoul, destroying the front windscreen of the bus, police said yesterday.

Police questioned three U.S. adolescents at the scene and asked U.S. military police for the identity of a 13-year old suspected of being responsible for the incident.

Additionally, two U.S. soldiers were arrested Friday on charges of assaulting a South Korean taxi driver, 50, and two bystanders in Uijeongbu, where the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division base is located. The three suspects, all of whom belong to the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division, climbed on top of a taxi waiting at traffic lights and caused a distubance, police said.

The South Korean government is granted primary jurisdiction in crimes committed by U.S. soldiers outside working hours as outlined by the Status of Forces Agreement that governs the legal status of U.S. troops and their dependants here.

However, many U.S. soldiers have evaded the South Korean jurisdiction by citing their exemption from the SOFA clause by claiming on-duty status.

(smjoo@heraldm.com)



By Joo Sang-min and Yonhap