US Soldier On Duty

A 19 year old US soldier who accidental struck a 51 year old Korean woman with his military vehicle last month killing her, has been officially declared on duty at the time of the accident:

A U.S. soldier was on duty when the vehicle he was driving struck and killed a South Korean woman in Dongducheon city on June 10, U.S. military officials told South Korean prosecutors Wednesday.

U.S. Forces Korea officials provided the “official duty certificate” in response to a query from the Uijongbu city prosecutor, according to a USFK statement issued Wednesday evening. The certificate gives U.S. authorities “the primary right to exercise criminal jurisdiction” in the case, according to the statement.

This means that under the Status of Forces Agreement that he cannot be charged with a crime in a Korean court. Korean police forwarded charges last week knowing full well this was an obvious on duty incident:

South Korean police said they forwarded charges of “duty-related accidental homicide” to the Uijongbu city prosecutor’s office more than a week ago.

The Korean police did this just to cover themselves and blame their lack of action on the soldier on the SOFA agreement to keep the anti-American protesters off their backs.

Here is the reasoning USFK gave for not forwarding charges on PFC Bryant:

USFK officials are not compelled to prosecute because “each case is evaluated and addressed individually,” according to the statement.

The police said the 51-year-old victim, Kim Myung-ja, jaywalked across Peace Street while Bryant sat at a traffic light in a 2.5-ton Army vehicle. Bryant’s passenger, 28-year-old Pfc. Cassandra Daryliell, spotted Kim as she crossed the street, police have told Stripes, but Bryant apparently failed to hear Daryliell’s warnings.

Why can’t the police just be mature about this and admit that it was an accident and seek compensation from USFK for the accident? The Korean family involved have already forgiven the soldier, why can’t everyone else do the same?