Category: crime & punishment

Here is a warning from 8th Army that USFK servicemembers may be victims of credit card fraud:

American troops may have been among the victims of hackers who stole information from more than 1 million U.S. and South Korean credit cards and listed it for sale on the dark web over the past three months, the military said.

The thefts targeted unspecified business and financial entities in South Korea and included information on at least 38,000 U.S.-issued payment cards, according to an alert distributed by the Eighth Army via its Facebook page on Monday.

An unnamed credit union that provides services at U.S. Air Force bases in South Korea was among the potentially compromised organizations, it said.

Citing the large number of U.S.-issued payment cards involved and the significant presence of American troops in South Korea, the Major Cybercrime Unit-Korea said it could “assess with medium confidence that the purchase cards of U.S. service members may have been included in this compromise.”

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

It is horrible what happened to this spouse, but if the military had to pay $5 million to everyone that was sexually assaulted there would not be a military for much longer:

Then-Amn. Justin S. and his wife, Bethany, arrived at Kadena Air Base in Japan Oct. 6, 2017, for his first duty assignment. They were excited to begin their life in the Air Force, and eager to meet their fellow airmen at Kadena, Justin’s top pick for his initial assignment.

But all that ended the next day, when their official, assigned sponsor — then-Senior Amn. Steven Newt — coaxed them to a booze-soaked barbecue at his house and pressured Justin to drink. After Justin, Bethany and most of the other party-goers had gone to sleep, Newt was caught groping and kissing Bethany’s unconscious body.

Newt pleaded guilty last October to Bethany’s sexual assault and is now serving time in jail, but the events of that night traumatized her and left her suffering from depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress requiring therapy, she said. (……)

So far, Bethany has been fighting an uphill battle with the Air Force. Last November, she filed a personal injury claim seeking $5 million from the Air Force. But in May, the Air Force Legal Operations Agency denied her claim.

Air Force Times

You can read more at the link, but I would be surprised if the Air Force did not look into how the perpetrator’s command chose unit sponsors for newly arriving airmen. Did the perpetrator have past misconduct that should have raised red flags? Having a substandard airman be a newly arriving airman’s first impression of their unit is probably not a good thing. Also was there any unit policy to not take new airmen to drinking parties after arrival? Simple policies like this may have been able to prevent what happened.

Here is another power tip which will be called “victim blaming”, but I call common sense, do not ever get blackout drunk with people you don’t know. So many of these sexual assaults are alcohol related. You have to be careful because even the military has it share of creeps like this perpetrator who is now fortunately rotting in jail and has to register as a sex offender after his release.

South Korea has its own Jim Jones wannabe, just without the Kool-aid:

The leader of a South Korean doomsday cult who held 400 people captive in Fiji and subjected them to violent beatings has been sentenced to six years in jail.

Shin Ok-ju, founder of the Grace Road Church, convinced her followers to move to Fiji in 2014, which she said was the “promised land”, pointed to in the Bible, where they would survive coming apocalyptic events.

Once they arrived on the island their passports were confiscated. Those who left the group reported brutal rituals, called “threshing floors” in which people were beaten as punishment for sinful actions or to drive out evil spirits.

On Monday a South Korean court found Shin guilty on multiple criminal charges including violence, child abuse and fraud.

“The victims suffered helplessly from collective beatings and experienced not only physical torture but also severe fear and considerable mental shock,” said the Anyang sub-court of the Suwon district court.The leader of a South Korean doomsday cult who held 400 people captive in Fiji and subjected them to violent beatings has been sentenced to six years in jail.

Shin Ok-ju, founder of the Grace Road Church, convinced her followers to move to Fiji in 2014, which she said was the “promised land”, pointed to in the Bible, where they would survive coming apocalyptic events.

Once they arrived on the island their passports were confiscated. Those who left the group reported brutal rituals, called “threshing floors” in which people were beaten as punishment for sinful actions or to drive out evil spirits.

The Guardian

You can read the rest at the link, but I look forward to the day the greatest cult leader of them all located north of the DMZ is put in jail.

The Stars & Stripes has provided more details about what happened recently in Itaewon between a taxi driver and a USFK soldier:

An American soldier was detained after he reportedly scuffled with police and tried to steal a taxi after a night out drinking in Seoul over the weekend.

The incident occurred more than a month after U.S. Forces Korea, the main command for the 28,500 servicemembers stationed in the South, temporarily lifted a 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. off-installation curfew that had been in place for years.

The 21-year-old soldier, who is assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division, was angered when a taxi driver refused to let him into the car at about 5:30 a.m. Saturday in the trendy neighborhood of Itaewon, the Korea Broadcasting System reported.

The incident remained under investigation and the soldier was in the custody of his chain of command, the 2nd ID said Thursday, declining to provide more details due to the ongoing investigation.

According to the KBS report, the soldier hit the driver, then tried to drive away in the taxi after the driver got out to talk to police, but the taxi crashed into a fire hydrant.

The soldier scuffled with police and tried to run away, but the officers subdued him with a stun gun, according to the report. He was detained on suspicion of assault and property damage but was released to American military authorities in accordance with the status of forces agreement between the allies.An American soldier was detained after he reportedly scuffled with police and tried to steal a taxi after a night out drinking in Seoul over the weekend.

The incident occurred more than a month after U.S. Forces Korea, the main command for the 28,500 servicemembers stationed in the South, temporarily lifted a 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. off-installation curfew that had been in place for years.

The 21-year-old soldier, who is assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division, was angered when a taxi driver refused to let him into the car at about 5:30 a.m. Saturday in the trendy neighborhood of Itaewon, the Korea Broadcasting System reported.

The incident remained under investigation and the soldier was in the custody of his chain of command, the 2nd ID said Thursday, declining to provide more details due to the ongoing investigation.

According to the KBS report, the soldier hit the driver, then tried to drive away in the taxi after the driver got out to talk to police, but the taxi crashed into a fire hydrant.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

Unlike how the Korean court system handles sex criminals, this how the US military handles them:

A Navy police officer was sentenced to 39 years in prison after his conviction Friday of seven child sex crimes involving an acquaintance’s 6- and 8-year-old children.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Adam Pyron, 29, a former master-at-arms at Yokosuka, was found guilty of rape of a child; two counts of attempted rape of a child; and four counts of sexual abuse of a child by indecent communication, indecent exposure and sexual contact after a weeklong jury trial.

The charges stem from the night of Feb. 4, after a Super Bowl party at a new friend’s house, when Pyron was accused of exposing himself to the children, rubbing himself on the 8-year-old and having the 6-year-old perform oral sex on him, according to court testimony.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link, but unsurprisingly alcohol was involved in this incident.

It seems this former ambassador got off pretty light:

South Korea’s former Ambassador to Ethiopia Kim Mun-hwan, 55, was sentenced to jail on Monday for raping an employee of a Ministry of Foreign Affairs agency.

The Supreme Court on Monday confirmed the appellate court’s one-year sentence for the ex-ambassador for abusing his authority.

Kim was indicted in August 2017 on charges of raping a staff member of the Korea International Cooperation Agency at his residence in Ethiopia in 2015. He was also suspected of molesting two embassy officials on two different occasions while serving as ambassador from 2014 to 2017.

The ministry dismissed him from his post in September 2017.

In addition to the jail term, the court sentenced Kim to 40 hours of sex offender treatment. He is also barred from working at institutions related to children or adolescent affairs.

Korea Herald

It looks like someone got really stupid in Itaewon this weekend and caused yet another Taxi Cab Related Incident. Via U.S. Army WTF Moments:

Here is what the USFK commander General Abrams had to say about this incident:

Being a good battlebuddy includes being with your battle buddy and not letting them wander off.

We are guests here. We are also Ambassadors who represent our country on and off duty. Below is an example of not being a good Ambassador. https://t.co/Dw4FVkxMAd

— Robert Abrams (@DogFaceSoldier) July 21, 2019

As I have always said every time the curfew has been lifted, is that just the large number of U.S. troops in Korea means that eventually a stupid or criminal incident will happen. If the command is not willing to absorb blowback from incidents like this, then why the lift the curfew in the first place?

I guess we will see if the curfew returns or not.

This is a chilling statistic to see on the increase which appears to be influenced by the poor economy:

Kim Sung-kwan, 37, had a habit of telling lies. 

He told his wife and his in-laws that he was working at a well-known company and was about to inherit a fortune from his grandfather, but in reality, he was relying on money from his mother.

Unable to deal with her son any longer, Kim’s mother drew a line and told Kim that she could not give him any more money. Kim grew furious with her and his family. He created a plan with his wife to murder his mother, stepbrother and stepfather.

“We can buy time to get away by killing everyone in the family,” Kim said to his wife.

Kim went to his parent’s house in Yongin, Gyeonggi, on Oct. 21, 2017, and killed his mother and stepbrother. To confuse police, he sprayed flour over the bodies and covered the bodies with a blanket.

“Two down, one to go,” read Kim’s message to his wife.

Later that day, Kim killed his stepfather and took 120 million won ($102,625) from his mother’s bank account. He fled to New Zealand with his wife and two children. Kim was arrested by New Zealand police and was extradited to Korea 80 days later.

Kim was sentenced to life in prison by a Korean court.

The number of crimes toward family members is on the rise, as the number of people arrested for the murder of a family member increased from 60 in 2015 to 91 in 2018, according to data from the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office. From January to April, 32 people have been arrested for killing a family member and experts estimate this number will surpass 100 by the end of the year. The number of people arrested for domestic violence increased from 988 in 2014 to 2,414 in 2018, doubling in just four years. Criminal psychology experts said that there are many cases where people take out their stress and anger on their families.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

I thought it was reported that North Korea has a price on this man's head. If true, wouldn't he be safer in jail than out free where he could be killed? https://t.co/P1xqexyzcx

— NorthKoreaRealTime (@BuckTurgidson79) July 9, 2019

South Korea is already importing Muslim Brotherhood immigrants, they don’t need to have home grown ISIS members as well:

A South Korean man has been under investigation on charges of stealing a device used in military explosives while serving in the Army and collecting or uploading video clips related to the Islamic State (IS) militant group, defense ministry officials said Friday. 

The 23-year-old man, identified only by his surname, Park, allegedly stole at least one spark plug for explosives in October, 2017, when he was receiving training at an Army engineering unit as an explosive specialist, according to the officials.

Investigators also found a video clip on his cellphone on how to make homemade ammunition as well as a mobile app used by IS members and supporters. Also found at his home was a machete that looks similar to broad blade knives that have been used by terrorists, officials said.

The suspect had collected video clips and other materials related to IS and posted them online since 2016 until recently, the officials said, adding that he is suspected of exchanging emails with suspected members of the militant group.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but something I found interesting about this is that the FBI were the one that tipped off the ROK authorities about this guy contacting ISIS.