Tag: affair

The lawyer for the Camp Red Cloud Sergeant Jin-hong Han has now appealing to have his 10 month prison sentence reduced.  However, his former wife and fooled fiance say that 10 months is not enough:

In the months and years they knew Han, he lied about his income, Army rank, marital status and intentions, both women said in separate phone interviews with Stars and Stripes recently.

Na, the wife, has polio and had hoped her marriage to a U.S. Army officer would bring her a more rewarding life. Kim, the girlfriend, said she gave up her job and home in Australia to return to Seoul and marry a man who made ¿rosy promises.

Now, Kim compares her dealings with Han to a movie or soap opera: Who on Earth can guess [this] absolute nightmare happened in my life? she said.

This case is just weird.  Read the rest of the article to get the complete details.

The Camp Red Cloud sergeant convicted for a false marriage proposal in exchange for sex has now filed an appeal to his 10 month jail sentence:

A married U.S. soldier sentenced last week to 10 months in South Korean prison in connection with an adulterous relationship appealed the sentence Friday, his lawyer and U.S. military officials confirmed.

(…)

“He is under the watchful eye and supervision of his command,” said Maj. Karl Ivey. Ivey confirmed that Han had submitted an appeal.

Officials at Uijeongbu District Court said the appeals process could take up to two months.

Apparently the sergeant is going to claim that he didn’t know the false marriage proposal law existed in South Korea:

During the sentencing, the judge acknowledged that the crime of sexual intercourse under the pretense of marriage exists in South Korea but not America.

Still, the judge considered that Han grew up in South Korea, lied to his girlfriend about his marriage and his rank, and even hired a person to portray his father when he met his girlfriend’s parents.

Han, a U.S. citizen, moved to the States during high school and joined the U.S. Army in 2000.

I don’t think it matters if he knew about the law or not, he still broke the law and was held accountable for it in a Korean court per the SOFA agreement. The only way I see this guy not doing jail time is if he makes a compensation payment to the victim, which from all that I have seen, he has not done.

This is definitely one of those only in Korea stories that actually happens more often than you would think. This guy just got caught, but what an outrageous story anyway:

A U.S. soldier admitted in Korean court Wednesday that he had cheated on his wife and promised to marry his girlfriend in return for a sexual relationship, both crimes under Korean law.

Sgt. Jin-hong Han, 35, who is assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division, didn’t know he was committing crimes when he began an affair with a Korean woman this fall, his lawyer, Jung Jin-sung said in Uijeongbu District Court on Wednesday morning.

Still, through his lawyer, Han admitted to both crimes, and the Uijeongbu prosecutor requested a sentence of 18 months in prison. Judge Kim Byung-ju will sentence Han on Jan. 11.

So this guy is looking at a year and half in Korean prison, so that once again proves that SOFA agreement between the US and Korea does in fact work yet I’m curious if the Korea Times will proclaim that this is the first time a US soldier is to stand trial in Korea every time a US soldier stands trial in a Korean court.

Anyhow, the jail sentence seems more likely than him ever meeting the monetary settlement being demanded:

During Wednesday’s hearing, Judge Kim asked Han if he wanted to deny anything his lawyer said. Han told the judge his lawyer was telling the truth.

Kim asked both sides if a settlement was possible in the case. According to Han’s lawyer, the wife has asked for $10 million.

$10 million dollars! Even if this guy was an O5 he couldn’t afford $10 million. He needs to just suck it up and go to jail. The Choenan jail isn’t that bad. Make sure you read the rest of the article because this guys act was so elaborate it was humorous.

In the latest strange incident to come out of 2ID, an NCO apparently is in hot water for calling off a marriage proposal with a Korean woman:

A U.S. soldier faces up to two years in Korean jail after promising to marry a South Korean woman, having sex with her, then reneging on the engagement, according to Korean court and prosecution officials.

(…)

Sgt. Han Jin-hong, a 35-year-old soldier with the 2nd Infantry Division, faces the prospect of that punishment, according to the Uijeongbu prosecutor’s office.

Han, who is married, also faces a charge of adultery in Korean court, according to Yang Seung-seok of the Uijeongbu prosecutor’s office.

U.S. Forces Korea officials confirmed that Han is assigned to 2nd ID, but no further information was available Tuesday afternoon from military officials.

According to the Korean prosecutor, Han met a 36-year-old Korean woman through an Internet chat room. He told the woman he was a lieutenant colonel and single, and he promised to marry her, Yang said. They had a sexual relationship from June to September, meeting in both Seoul and the Uijeongbu areas, Yang said.

I have a feeling that this case will probably just be handed over to USFK to deal with after the NCO makes some kind of payment to the woman to settle the matter which is a common practice in Korea. However, he will still be in hot water because adultery and impersonating an officer under the military justice system are serious offenses that will end his career and can put him in jail.

I’m curious if charges like this have ever been prosecuted against a Korean men or US soldiers before?

Of course you can go over to Nomad’s site for more opinions on this topic.