A 57-year-old Korean woman, peeved at “U.S. terrorism,” apparently sneaked onto the Yongsan Garrison (through Gate 22, which was reportedly unguarded) and used a cigarette lighter to start a blaze that ended up injuring three Korean civilian base employees.
The woman will undergo psychiatric tests.
Meanwhile, the Munhwa Ilbo reports that there are questions whether the woman actually started the blaze. The paper suggests the fire might have started accidentally. Long piece and no time to translate it.
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13 Comments
Is there no end to the hypocrisy people will sink? While the official media casts doubt that a Korean (heaven forfend!) could have set such a fire (Taegu subway, anyone?), the comments section to that article are full of lovely comments about how all the Americans should have died by fire.
Yes, baduk, there is indeed something special in your genes.
I got a call this morning saying there was an explosion. The place was a mess when i got there, some debris and such but the local firefighters were doing a good job.
The part that got the most damage was actually on the Korean side, which is why the local firefighters were handling it. I think the ajumma hit her countrymen instead of the “terrorists.”
The Chosun Daily said the woman had been holding protests for a month and seeking to defect to the US ????
It suprises me if she got on base. The Chosun didn’t say, but you would kind of take it for granted she did if they were seriously looking at her as the fire starter.
Right now, I’d lay my money on the Korean workers who the Chosun said were drinking late in one of the buildings when they weren’t supposed to, but I would want some slightly favorable odds since the woman confessed already. She sounds too much like a nut and maybe I have too much misplaced faith in the base security to think some wack job would have gotten on base and done this.
On a related note — an arson would be unusual in the usual Korean protest/anti-US culture.
Firebombs are not, but they usually don’t come unless we are in a spike in broader anti-US activity. If it did happen today, I’d have to connect it to Pyongtaek - but it would still be out of character given the environment right now.
Staging an altercation with a GI and getting photos or video of it can happen just about anytime, but an arson? It just isn’t the style of the groups.
If they do something, they would want the public to know they did it (as a sign of protest) but they wouldn’t do something so extreme for fear of a backlash. Even in the worst periods, like 2002, 2000, or 1995, there would be too much to risk with an arson.
So, I’d guessing either wack job or drunk base workers with more leaning toward the workers. An electrical problem in one of the old buildings isn’t out of the picture either…
The Korea Herald was more pointing the finger at the woman.
It also made clear that she was on base and in the area.
I would like to know if gate 22 was really not guarded.
It would shock the hell out of me if it were not.
Unless it happened this way —- after the fire started, given how big it was and how many outside Korean firefighters had to come to help fight it (over 200), the gate was left unguarded or with guards not paying attention in all the confusion and commotion.
If it were really unguarded before that, and this woman could sneak in, gee wilikers….
….if I were a terrorist reading about that, South Korea would jump to near the top of my list of places to strike the US for a whole variety of reasons like —
the number of migrant workers from Middle Eastern and Muslim nations.
the amount of US military in the country.
the amount of native bad blood between the US military and local society.
If security is that loose at the main US base, despite the threat of terrorism AND despite the knowledge anti-US groups (primarily radical university student ones) constantly seek out weaknesses in base defense to stage a break in protest ————- someone high up in the chain of command needs to be handed his ass to send a message. I mean chewed out, publically disgraced, and fired — sent packing to some other command in some other country and not one that people want to be stationed in.
Funny, when a Korean commits a serious crime against a foreigner, that person always has “a mental disorder.”
Some of you readers may remember that 20 years ago or so a railway “guard” got drunk on soju while sleeping in a boxcar filled with dynamite (!), accidentally set fire to the straw, and then ran off in a panic. The car detonated and blew up the entire downtown area of Iri City in North Cholla province. If I were the MPs, I’d want to talk a little more with the employees.
Isn’t Gate 22 the small walk-in gate by Namyong that is only open at lunch time?
Anyone can get into Yongsan base, it’s not properly secured and never has been. You can ride a bicycle through various gates with a suicide bomb strapped to your chest and blow up the PX on anyday of the week.
A few years back the Korean college students broke into various bases and then the ROK government assigned riot police to each gate, but I doubt those police will have any effect on someone rushing the gate or scaling a wall.
I can understand not being able to protect every foot of fence line, but if the gates are not secure enough to stop 1 or 2 people alone from just walking in, I hope to God (really) the terrorist don’t figure that out.
A terrorist attack in South Korea is doable if they just don’t care so much about making them all on a mammoth scale.
The bases have been attacked by college students. What is a terrorist exactly? Terrorists HAVE figured it out.
Islam will not attack and kill Koreans because they don’t want the general public in China and Japan turning against them and supporting the US. You kill Yonsama? You die!
Come on Hardy, a terrorist is anyone who does not 100% and whole heartedly believe in what Bush and Rummy are doing,
Sheesh, and I thought you were so smart!
If they struck at a US base, they would not be targeting Koreans. If they will blow up US embassy’s in Africa, why not target US bases in Korea? I would have been scoping USFK out….
If the US has not been worried enough about the North Koreans getting into a base (after all, we are still at war with them) to adequately guard them, why would they worry about a few muslims?
“If security is that loose at the main US base, despite the threat of terrorism AND despite the knowledge anti-US groups someone high up in the chain of command needs to be handed his ass to send a message.”
It is that loose, the reason being that Korean nationals are in charge. Which means that while non-military US citizens have great difficulty getting on base, native Koreans can buy their way on for a few won. Recently, a high-ranking American military employee invited an American civilian guest on base. When the civilian was denied entry for forgetting her US passport, the guy called in a favor from a Korean security employee who got her admitted. The high-ranking American had no means of getting her on base while the Korean employee did so easily.