The Korean-language news provider Pressian worries that the Ministry of Justice may wave its jurisdiction over a case involving a US serviceman involved in a fatal hit-and-run in Osan (the driver was drunk at the time). USFK has asked Korea, which has first crack over cases of this magnitude, to waive jurisdiction over the case. The Ministry of Justice has 42 days to respond, and so far, they’ve said nothing. Personally, I don’t see what the problem here is - the Prosecutor’s Office in Suwon has already moved to indict the guy, and all the MoJ has to do is demand that the suspect be turned over to the local authorities. I’m as concerned about the rights of US servicemen in Korea as anyone - I thought USFK made the right call last year by turning down local requests for jurisdiction in the case involving an on-duty traffic accident that left two Korean middle school girls dead, but this is a completely different matter, and the individual involved needs to face the music in a Korean court of law.
Korea has primary jurisdiction in this case, and by God, it should exercise it.
PS: Those wanting to take a look at the US-ROK SOFA treaty can do so here.
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One Comment
I have no idea why the Korean justice system is waiting,
but I found the articles this week on the matter
interesting. You find near the bottom of the JAI
article a quote from USFK saying it asked for
jurisdiction as a matter of routine, but early in the
article, the JAI made sure you already new it was a
terrible arm twisting to have USFK demand to have
the court case. Put this together with the Water
Dumping case the Korean courts have gotten around to
starting some 3 years after the event, and we are squarely
in what the period of reminding Koreans how “GIs
escape justice.” Add to that the courts lowering the
penalty on the students who broke in the bases to
no time served or fine and clearing their record after
2 years of not breaking the law again….