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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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This is the typical street or public altercation case you will read about each year. --GI or GIs out in public drinking. --They offend one or more Koreans either directly or by their "outrageous behavior. --A good citizen Korean will try to stop them. --The soldiers "all of a sudden" start beating the hell out of him. --More good citizen Koreans come to the rescue and "hold" the guilty GIs until the police come. Having some experience with law enforcement in the US, you almost never get a very clear picture of how things go down in confrontations like this. It is usually "he said / he said" and witnesses are usually connected with one of the involved individuals, or they came on the scene after it began. In all the years I've been watching South Korea, it has been very rare to find a story on one of these altercations where they GIs are presented as the party that was accosted for no good reason.
Both men are described as having an occupation of collecting used newspapers and papers and selling them, which leads me to believe they might have been homeless or the type of indigent, often with some mental problems or alcohol problems, you run across in train and subway stations in Korea and the US. These were the situations I felt most uncomfortable in while living in Korea. With someone with an attitude, I felt no trouble ignoring them or humoring them and getting away. With the mentally ill people who seemed to ride the subways all day in Seoul, it was harder to know what they were thinking and what could happen. I usually tried to change train cars, but these people often walked the trains up and down. I have absolutely no way to know if the two men in this story were like that or just average citizens.
I don't know Korean law, but in the States, even if you did not start a fight or confrontation, you can be arrested as the "primary aggressor" if you "defended yourself" more than was necessary. So, even if the GIs in this case had not started the fight, if they did not suffer injuries similar to the 2 Koreans, there would be a good chance they would be arrested on the scene. What would happen at a trial is a different matter and unpredictable.
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