Category: crime & punishment

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.

"Drunk" man in Korea beats up gf with fist, suspects she's interested in other man. She falls, hits head, dies 2 days later. He's sentenced to 6 yrs jail.

But 2nd trial released him: found his text messages, showed he loved her. Can now continue studies. https://t.co/VtAMOSJF4c

— Raphael Rashid (@koryodynasty) July 5, 2019

The biggest surprise for me is not that they illegally hired Filipino maids, but do you really need 11 maids in one home?:

The wife and the eldest daughter of late Hanjin Group Chairman Cho Yang-ho received suspended jail sentences for illegally hiring Filipino maids. 

On Tuesday, the Seoul Central District Court sentenced Lee Myung-hee, the wife of Cho Yang-ho, to 18 months in prison, suspended. The court also sentenced Cho Hyun-ah, infamous for the so-called “nut rage” incident, to one year, suspended. 

Korean Air was fined 30 million won ($25,660) in the case.

The Cho family members were charged with illegally hiring 11 Filipino women as maids by passing them off as Korean Air employees. 

The suspended prison sentences for the two Cho family members are significantly higher than what prosecution demanded. The prosecutors had asked the court only to fine the two: Lee 30 million won and Cho Hyun-ah 15 million won. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link.

Here we go again with another example in South Korea of a criminal getting away with a sex crime by claiming the victim did not resist enough, and this time it was a 10 year old girl:

Criticism is mounting over a recent high court ruling that commuted a prison term for a child rapist.

The court said the 10-year-old victim’s testimony was insufficient to prove there was “enough threat and physical assault” that made the victim unable to defend herself ― which would constitute a rape charge.

In the June 13 ruling, the Seoul High Court handed down a three-year jail term to the offender, a cram school teacher surnamed Lee, 35. The sentence was reduced drastically from an earlier term of eight years given by a local court.

Lee met the victim through a chatting app in April last year. He brought her to his home and had her drink two glasses of soju to get her drunk. He then sexually assaulted her by holding her hands and pressing against her body so she could not move.

Lee denied the allegations, claiming he did not know that the girl, who was 160 centimeters tall, was 10 years old at the time, and that he had sex with her with her consent. 

Although the local court acknowledged Lee used threats and physical assaults to the point where she was unable to defend herself, the high court did not ― it said the girl’s statement was the only evidence regarding the threat and assault and that it was insufficient.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but this case shows that in South Korea you can get a 10 year old drunk with soju, hold her down, and rape her and not be convicted for forcible rape. At least they up held the statutory rape conviction on him which will keep him in jail for 3 years.

This issue is nothing new ROK Heads may remember the rapist of a U.S. soldier who was set free by this same Seoul High Court because she could not prove that she resisted enough.