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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
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.
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Another terrible crime. Another conviction. I also remember this murder, and it did not generate anything close to the public attention the 1995 subway case (assault) did. My only guess at the time was because, like the 1996 murder, it was a bar girl who was the vicitim. |
10:00
pm, January 15th, 1998, Ms. Hur met the US soldier Henrix
Timothy Jerome at the JS club, where she works, and drank liquor
with him. Jerome was trying to go back to his base at 3:30 am,
but Ms. Hur wanted him to be with her for the night and held
Henrix's arm. Jerome hit Ms. Hur's stomach with his right
elbow, which caused her to die.