More U.S. Soldiers Assaulted (in South Korea): Choson Ilbo Report

The Choson Ilbo Daily (Seoul) ^ | 20 December 2002 | Yu Yong-Won (Reporter)

[AmericanInTokyo]

More US Soldiers Assaulted by Yu Yong-won (kysu@chosun.com)

The 8th United States Army Command said Friday in a press release that three Koreans at Seoul Station physically and verbally assaulted two soldiers, Thursday morning. It stated that a staff sergeant identified as "M" and a Korean American Corporal "Y" were at Seoul Station to pick up a colleague around 10:30am, when two middle-aged men started to use abusive language and attempted to grab them by throats. The Korean American corporal stopped the two men and the American soldiers were unharmed.

The two soldiers then encountered another man in his 50s who approached "Y" and tried to snatch his tag reading US Army. The GIs tried to avoid the man, but he followed and continued to curse at them. A United States Forces Korea official said that four Korean soldiers and a reporter from a TV station were present and witnessed the scene, but did not stop the assault, and moreover, some laughed and spat at them. The official added that the soldiers only escaped the scene with the help of a man who claimed to have served in the Korean Augmentation Troops to the United States Army (KATUSA).

Prior to the incident, another attack on an American soldier took place around noon, Monday in Itaewon. A soldier who was standing near the pedestrian gate to the 8th Army base was shot in the chest with a toy bullet fired from a passing minivan. The soldier was unharmed, the USFK said.

The 8th Army is seriously concerned with the series of attacks targeting US soldiers stationed in Korea, and is reportedly preparing comprehensive preventative measures.

[Man of the Right]

Thanks for the photos. We have a tradition of sending a wise man -- a genro -- currently Howard Baker -- to Japan as ambassador. I think the same approach would work in the ROK. Ideally, a senior politician with good rapport with the President and military experience. The current ambassador is a solid foreign service pro, but he doesn't know the President. Bush, Powell & Cheney have too much on their plate to give Korea the attention it needs.

[AmericanInTokyo]

What an excellent idea. Really, very well done.