What Took So Long?
USFK has finally made the decision to not hand over the PFC involved in the fatal accident in Dongducheon this past June:
U.S. Forces Korea on Tuesday declined a request from the South Korean government for criminal jurisdiction in the case of a U.S. soldier who was driving a military truck that struck and killed a South Korean woman in June, according to USFK.
Instead, the investigation of the case will remain within the U.S. military justice system, USFK spokesman David Oten said.
I’m glad to hear this because if he was given to the Korean court system he would of been sent to jail for something no Korean would of been sent to jail for. It has been my impression that Korean courts when US soldiers are involved are more concerned about satisfying public opinion then rendering justice. So it is good to see that USFK has finally made the decision to not throw this private to the wolves.
The soldier was on duty doing his job when the victim jaywalked in between cars on a busy highway when she was struck. This is a tragic accident, not a homicide as some people want you to believe. The driver has already apologized for the accident along with the USFK leadership and compensation payed. The family is satisfied with USFK’s response:
The victim’s family has told Stars and Stripes they believe it was an accident. They also said they hope that the incident would not draw protests and attention.
I do not think that this will cause to much of an uproar because I would think most fair minded people would understand this was a tragic accident. However, I’m sure the usual suspects (anti-USFK groups) will use this to further try and create the image of US soldiers getting away with crimes against Korean citizens.
"I do not think that this will cause to much of an uproar because I would think most fair minded people would understand this was a tragic accident."
I don't mean any disrespect, but I think this sentence shows a fundamental misunderstanding of how all this works in Korean society.
The anti-US process isn't fair minded or logical and the being unfair and illogical isn't confined to a limited group of NGOs — it runs across the board in Korean society.
The event itself in not even always the primary trigger.
Three examples should illustrate the point well.
There were two murders of Korean women that come to mind in the late 1990s.
Then, there was the 2000 water dumping case where an American civilian admin ordered a Korean base worker to dump something like 20 gallons of fromaldehyde (sp?) into the base sewer system. The waste in that system was processed three times before it hit the Han River. And Koreans already think the Han is so polluted, they laughed at me when I asked about fishing in it. They said they wouldn't dream of eating a fish caught in it.
Neither of the 2 murders drew 25% of the outrage the water case did.
The murders were covered in the press for a short time. My adult students talked about it for a couple of days. The civic groups tried to get something going. But it quickly faded away.
The water dumping case, however, generated a long period of large protests that were the biggest I'd seen until the 2002 tank accident.
The whole year of 2000 was almost as bad as 2002. Korea picked up several really minor issues to rage about — like the F-15 being selected for the FX project.
The issues didn't matter. Guilt didn't matter.
What made 2000 such a heated year was —- the approaching then held historic SK-NK Summit.
Today, if Korean society feels like it is a good time to vent, they will take up the truck fatality regardless of the circumstances….
Right now, Pyongtaek is a big, growing issue, and the kind of issue Korea normally loves to get angry about.
But, they are also afraid that the 1/3rd of USFK slated to leave will put to 2/3rds or all if they push too hard.
So, it would not suprise me if they take up the truck accident jurisdiction issue for a good spike in anti-US activity.
But I am leaning toward the belief they will decide the time is right.
The facts about the case have little to do with it….
I just don’t see this incident getting blown out of proportion because it was an elderly Korean lady which people here seem to care less about and the family has already forgiven and sided with USFK on this issue. The anti-American groups do not have images of grief stricken family members to push on the general population. Plus the woman was jaywalking and this is undisputable.
The big showdown will come when the farmers located adjacent to Camp Humphreys are forced to move. All hell will break loose when the riot police show up to forcibly move some of the farmers that do not want to move. I think the majority of them will take the money and move but I am sure a few will remain. This will be the huge showdown where Koreans will need to make up their minds. IMHO, which really doesn’t mean much, but anyway, if USFK is not allowed to move out of Yongsan and the DMZ areas the force structure here will be reduced to where it can fit on the existing land on Camp Humphreys and Osan Airbase. I just do not see the Army keeping 2ID and Yongsan Garrison in its current locations. If it means withdrawing 2/3 of the force or more, so be it.
… and to your question "What took them so long?"
The USFK's generals and organization are quite frankly — frightened. Fear is eroding USFK's leadership … because the enemy is not as you suppose from without… such as those rascally Koreans … USFK's enemy are working from within to destroy a proud service worthy of honor and praise, not weepy self-loathing hesitation and procrastination.
Your leadership is in the despotic grip of their own career ambitions… that makes them frightened of the multi-cult within the Pentagon… which has infiltrated USFK with multi-cult moles.
The depth of the problem in the U.S. Army and the other military services can be gauged by the strength-in-numbers of the military 'equal opportunity' infrastructure: the socialist tentacles of the multi-cult.
The attitudes, goals, and desires of these 'affirmative action' activists lurking within the NEW ARMY are revealing as well. The Navy, Army and Marine Corps assign 'equal opportunity' responsibility as part-time collateral duty to enlisted leaders and younger officers. The Coast guard, on the other hand, has 15 full-time 'military civil rights counselor/facilitators,' most of them senior enlisted men, E-7s, who perform all the duties of an equal opportunity adviser: investigating complaints of discrimination, conducting command climate assessments, advising commanders on gender and racial issues and conducting training and education courses (utilizing 'sensitivity training' techniques) in equal opportunity for all hands. They generally serve one or two three-year tours and then return to their regular military skill.
The Air Force goes a step further, using full-time 'social action' workers. The Air Force even puts them on their own social-action career track, bringing them in at the enlisted E-5 level from other skills.
An example of the mind-set of these affirmative action commissars can give you insight into Gen. Leon LaPorte's tactic of memorializing the two-angels each year: the mindset is provided by an article written by one of these socialist infiltrators in the Capital Flyer, the official newspaper of Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. The 89th Airlift Wing Military Equal Opportunity Officer wrote, "May is a month of remembrance. Memorial day is a day when we stop and remember our loved ones who have passed on [My note: actually not true, it's too remember fallen soldiers], but it's more than that. May is also the month we remember and appreciate the contributions made to our nation by Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders."
One might wonder what in the world America's 200-plus year history, including the expansion of its frontier, the doctrine of manifest destiny, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and Bill of Rights depended on Pacific Islanders… or even two-squashed Korean angels.
But,in the same spirit of over-idealizing minorities … LaPorte thinks USFK's job is now to eternally memorialize "two situationally un-aware Korean teen-agers"… while Gen Campbell falls into epileptic fits of white guilt… rolling on the floor weeping for absolution from the affirming smiles of Oprah Winfrey and Angela Mayou… all at the expense of the well-being of USFK's soldiers.
Your leaders imagine the feminist consultants watching in the Pentagon will recommend further career promotions if they demonstrate "sensitivity" … even at the expense of USFK's soldiers.
That's one real factor in why USFK —- took so long.
Fair-minded Koreans?
GI, your moral-equivalency is showing again. Koreans are NOT products of Western Civilization– they are tribal Asians: worker bees of the hive driven by the group-think.
(The above statement is true: don't mentally fight me on this — just because you feel some ego-dissonance from your politically-correct indoctrination.)
The "usual suspects" as you describe ARE "the voice of the people" … the majority of the people being too self-absorbed and pre-occupied to be throwing rocks at riot troops … since they have Kimchee to prepare and babies to feed.
The Korean group-think is anti-foreigner from its shamanistic underpinnings … xenophobia lurking below those bright toothy smiles.
The small contingent of Voodoo Korean Kristians support the USFK not from a rationalized fair-minded appreciation of USFK, but use the USFK controversy as a convenient point of opposition against their pagan brothers and sisters … an issue to self-righteously distinguish themselves from the heathens and villianous commies… they "use" pro-Americanism to self-servingly valorize themselves … and are amazingly smug at their ability to dupe Americans into believing USFK and America are truly appeciated.
GI, the key to wisdom is to realize Koreans are NOT deep down Americans-in-the-rough that smell like garlic and pass too much gas … they are Asians.
Savvy?
You know the usual suspects will find photos of the accident and add it to the “crimes by U.S. troops” posters (along with the other fictional crimes) they drag to every protest.
I lean toward the side that says this accident will not be taken up greatly, but again, the dynamics outside the event itself OFTEN determine how much an event will draw attetion. In the two murders, the GIs were obviously guilty. In one, the guy strangled the woman because he didn't have enough money for sex and he was a regular customer, and he tried to cover up the strangling by just about slicing her head off. The Korean media ran stories on it. But, the Korean public just voiced some concern about it for a couple of days. 2 years later, SK selects the F-15K for its next generation fighter, a US civilian official orders a minor environmental infraction, 5 practice bombs were dropped ON Maehyangri's range without prior warning because it was an emergency measures, and a few other really minor issues —- sent Korea into waves of large scale anger throughout 2000.
Thought I doubt it, I can see this jurisdiction issue having a partical explosion this way —–
Korean society has been hearing about the base closures and expansions for some time. The Civic Groups have been trying to drum up business, and they have staged two very violent protests in recent months to promote the issue. I just found where MBC has been active on TV in promoting the rage in the base closure and expansion project.
This truck accident jurisdiction issue could very well have been the spark to trigger the bigger blow concerning the Pyongtaek issue. That is how it works.
I think in the May violent protest the stated theme for it was Patriot Missile buying by South Korea….
Patriot Missiles —— the defense missiles designed solely to knock North Korean missiles out of the air if they ever come……
That is what the Korean protest movement is like.
Reason and logic are often blatantly absent….