Overview :

It was not unusual to hear nice, intelligent Korean adults of all ages say as a major of fact, "GIs are never held to justice in Korea.  They just fly away to American, and there is nothing we can do about it."  Besides being accepted as gospel by Koreans of all ages, it was also taken as a given by Koreans of all stripe -- pro-American, anti-American, neutral, and non-political alike. 

What was hardest to accept about this conventional wisdom was that the seeds of information to the contrary of this myth were clearly available in their head.

When you hear this wisdom about GI crimes, just ask the speaker to give you some examples to help you understand.

If you press, they will tell you of a couple of infamous murders and other crimes.  If you check, even if you press them for details, you will probably see that they do in fact know the GIs in these crimes were --- arrested by Koreans, put on trial by Koreans, and found guilty by Korean judges.

Today, unlike when I was teaching Korean adults, the person telling you that GI Crimes, and Korea's inability to do anything about them, is one key reason Korean society is anti-USFK / US alliance can point to the 2002 Tank Accident/Murder and the 2000 Water Poisoning of 10 Million Seoul Citizens.

You can read my review of those two cases and decide for yourself if they are great tragedies of justice that excuse the myth of "no" GIs "ever" facing "Korean justice."

But, beyond those two cases, the examples of bastard GI Crimes Koreans have been able to tell me about have ALWAYS turned out to be examples that prove the exact opposite of what they desperately want to believe -- like the 1993 horrible Markle Murder Case.  Markle still sits in a Korean prison to this day (Dec. 2005).  The murder was brutal, but the GI was convicted, and in a Korean civilian criminal court, (something a Korean soldier criminal never faces, because they are always tried by the Korean military court system).

To cut this short, I can easily show you how utterly preposterous the incredible bullshit of GI Crimes Myth is in Korea by noting a Dec. 2003 editorial in one of Korea's top media conglomerates that produce The Korean Times.

Headline :  First Prosecution of US Soldier
Washington Should Respect Seoul's Decision for Ties

It boggles the mind.

How could a man paid a good salary, and having risen through the ranks as a journalist, not remember at least the most famous murders that led to convictions?

In a word :  Easily.

It makes no sense.

I had a few long time students who were with me through more than 1 well publicized GI Crimes - crimes in which we watched the criminal soldier get convicted in Korean court.

But, when the new one rose, these same students still found they could say nothing but, "GIs are never held to justice in Korea.  This will be the first time if the US government doesn't shield the soldier again...."

It makes no sense.

The only other time I've run across something so baffling is in the States with people who have racial prejudice and don't know it. 

I knew some people in high school who had one or two good friends they hung out with, invited to their home even, who were black, but they still found a way from time to time, when among white friends, that they "don't like black people." 

If you pressed them on it, they still couldn't get it....

It is that kind of mind block in Korea too.

What I am offering in these pages is what I know about GI Crimes and what I have been able to find. 

The English language Korean newspapers have online archives that go back to 1998-99. 

Much of what I found comes from US media archives --- and keep in mind these papers don't spend much time on day to day things in South Korea beyond the geopolitical.  It is a safe bet more GI Crimes came and went and were not covered by them at all. 

Whatever the case may be, it is undeniable the Myth of GI Crimes in Korea is unsupported and ultimately inexcusable.

To think differently, you have to stretch out the hand of understanding Korean society beyond the bounds of normalcy.   

Case File From : US(FK)A Crimes

Sexual assault case of Ms. KIM Kuk-hye  by Corporal Lance John

Date :  29 May 1993
Victim : Ms. KIM Kuk-hye (F, 53 Owner of Lruvin Hof)
Assaulter : John Roger Salroyce (M, 27)

Ms. KIM Kuk-hye, who was running the bar 'Lruvin Hof' in Socho-dong, Seoul, was assaulted physically and sexually by US Army 2nd division lance corporal, John Roger Salroyce, receiving severe injuries. At the time of the incident, lance corporal John continuously assaulted  Ms. Kim on the head with an 'insecticide can', until the victim lost consciousness, then ran away from the crime scene. Ms. Kim was discovered 12 hours after the crime took place and was moved to the Young-dong Severance Hospital to receive brain surgery. Her injury was extremely serious and because of the sequela, she is now forced to live the  rest of her life handicapped.

This case was prosecuted as a simple act of violence, but when the victim regained consciousness, she claimed that it was a sexual assault and therefore rape was  added to the  case. The first trial Salroyce was sentenced 10 years of imprisonment for assault but the suit was appealed.

The court overruled the crime of sexual assault because of the lack of evidence and only accepted the crime as an act of violence. He was re-sentenced to  2 years and 6 months in prison.

The assaulter, lance corporal John, was imprisoned in Chun-an Prison in January of 1995, but was released on the 15th of August 1995, because of the KIM Young-sam Government's special 8.15 pardon.

Bad crime.

Result - arrest, prosecution, and conviction by the Koreans.

The first conviction was in Oct 1993.  That means he spent just at 2 years in custody before the pardon by Korea's president (In Korea, each year, there are a large amount of pardons given per Korean custom on one of the biggest holidays - which one I forget) with the appealed sentence being 2 years 6 months.

At the time, before the SOFA was revised in the late 1990s and then again in the early 2000s, GIs were held in USFK custody (detention center) until the trial and all appeals were finished.  Then the convicted soldiers were turned over to the Korean prison system.

After the two SOFA revisions (as of Dec 2005), Korea has negotiated the right to hold all GIs arrested for crimes outside of normal duty and against Korean nationals after indictments are gained. 

They also get to hold GIs accused of certain major (usually violent) crimes before indictment.

In the past, I heard many Korean adults, and read Korean politicians, newspaper editors, and others, claim that not being able to hold GIs as soon as an arrest were made caused too much trouble for the police in investigating the crime --- that having to hand GIs arrested over to USFK before even an indictment could be gained allowed the US military "to shield" the GI criminals and make it "virtually" impossible for the Korean to get justice.

This sounds good to the ear.  It even wins support among "understanding" expats.

If I had ever seen a case of a specific GI suspected of a crime who was NOT arrested, indicted, tried, and convicted by a Korean court, they might have at least 1% of the truth on their side.

I have NEVER seen a GI announced as the prime suspect acquitted in a Korean court.  And I can't remember hearing about a case dropped due to "lack of evidence."

USFK prosecutors have a very high conviction rate too. 

I am not saying Korea "railroads" GIs into prison.

I am saying the idea Korea has routinely been deprived of justice because it has to wait some days to a few weeks (or even longer) to get a hold of the full custody is unsupported by the evidence.