1) The U.S. armed forces used to deal with the bad conduct of their own and not allow service members to serve time in foreign jails or prisons, including for crimes against host nation citizens. The United States has a status of forces agreement (SOFA) with the ROKs; King should have been handed over immediately to U.S. military authorities for NJP or court martial.
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2) Getting the miscreant service member out of country immediately and under close guard until delivered to a disciplinary barracks or brig should be SOP. Dropping off the soldier at an airport and on own his own is beyond stupid.
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3) Countries such as South Korea, Germany, and Japan with a significant U.S. military presence have been treating service members badly for a long time now. The Japs have a U.S. Naval officer in prison because he experienced a medical emergency while driving and accidentally killed two pedestrians after he lost consciousness. The U.S. administration must grow a spine and stand up to these morons whose asses we’ve kicked and whose bacon we now protect at great cost to the American taxpayer.
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4) Are things so bad in Biden’s woke military that a soldier would rather defect to the Norks than serve in the perv Army?
That's not exactly correct. Under the US-ROK SOFA, SOFA members who violate ROK law in areas under ROK jurisdiction (i.e. off post) are subject to ROK prosecution. At least as far back as the 90s when I commanded an MP company in Korea, there was a special wing at Cheonan Prison specifically for SOFA members who had received sentences in ROK courts under ROK law. There were provisions for them to receive regular visits/inspections by US military authorities, but they were, to be sure, prisoners of the ROK correctional system.
The SOFA does give the ROKs some latitude. If two GIs get in a brawl in downtown Itaewon, then it's likely they'd be turned over to the US military, but if they busted out the window of a Korean storefront or beat the snot out of a Korean shopkeeper, chances are they're going to face charges, trial and potential incarceration under the Korean system.
In 1977 I was the USMC observer at the Okinawan trial of a Marine corporal who, while drunk, had “rolled “ an Okinawa drunk.
IIRC, he received a two year sentence.
We Marines bring our dead and wounded back from the battlefield. As for idiots who disgrace both their uniform and their country...
“Play stupid games, win stupid prizes!”