Coalition to Expose Crimes Against the U.S. Army

In the interests of rounding out the rather incomplete and skewed record you might see in the Korean press, I publish stories like these when I get my hands on them, which happens occasionally, thanks to a very good friend in Korea. From the Eighth U.S. Army’s Seoul MP blotter:

AT 1917 HRS, 13 NOV 05, [U.S. Army Private L] NOTIFIED THIS STATION IN PERSON OF AN ASSAULT CONSUMMATED BY BATTERY. INVESTIGATION BY PATROL 3-3 [ ] REVEALED AT THE ABOVE TIMES, DATE AND LOCATION [Private L] WAS ASSAULTED BY FOUR UNKNOWN MALE KOREAN NATIONALS WHILE HE WAS WALKING TO A FRIEND’S HOUSE. THE UNKNOWN KOREAN NATIONALS HAD EARLIER CONFRONTED [Private L] IN A BAR BECAUSE [Private L] AND HIS KOREAN FRIEND WERE SPEAKING IN ENGLISH. [Private L] SUSTAINED INJURIES CONSISTING OF MINOR LACERATIONS TO THE FACE, BRUISING AND A MISSING TOOTH. [Private L] DECLINED MEDICAL ATTENTION STATING HE HAD AN APPOINTMENT ON TUESDAY (15 NOV 05). [Private L] RENDERED A WRITTEN SWORN STATEMENT ATTESTING TO THE ABOVE INCIDENT AND WAS ISSUED A DD FORM 2701. [Private L] WAS INSTRUCTED TO FILE A REPORT WITH THE KOREAN NATIONAL POLICE (KNP). INVESTIGATION CONTINUES BY KNP.

Nice of them to end with that punchline. I’m not a great fan of hate crimes legislation, but by this account, that’s just what we seem to have here. If we were to start a rumor–here and now–that the SOFA gives Koreans immunity for their crimes against Americans, based on my own experience, it would actually be closer to the truth than the converse.

This one is what is known as “par for the course:”

DETAILS: AT 1300 HRS, 03 NOV 05, THE USACIDC WERE NOTIFIED BY 2ID AND AREA 1 LAW ENFORCEMENT CENTER, MILITARY POLICE D/SGT [S] OF LARCENY OF AAFES PROPERTY. PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT [Korean male, C] OBTAINED 25 CASES OF WHISKY FROM THE MAIN PX FOR DELIVERY TO THE 702ND MSB SHOPPETTE. RATHER THAN TAKING THE WHISKY INTO THE SHOPPETTE, [C] LOADED IT INTO HIS PRIVATELY OWNED VEHICLE, AT WHICH TIME HE WAS CAUGHT. THIS INVESTIGATION WAS COORDINATED WITH THE KNP, WHO AGREED TO CONDUCT A JOINT INVESTIGATION. ECOL IS $12,510.00 IN US CURRENCY. INVESTIGATION CONTINUES BY USACIDC AND KNP.

Still not my favorite black-marketing story, however. No, this one still holds that title. This one, on the other hand, is not a particularly common M.O.:

AT 1403 HRS, 15 NOV 05, [U.S. Dependent M] NOTIFIED THIS STATION IN PERSON OF A ROBBERY. PATROL 1-2 [ ] AND MPI 4-4 [ ] REVEALED THROUGH INVESTIGATION AT THE ABOVE TIME, DATE, AND LOCATION THAT SUBJECT #1 (PASSENGER) AND SUBJECT #2 (DRIVER) ON AN UNKNOWN COLOR MOPED OR SMALL MOTORCYCLE (NFI) CAME FROM BEHIND [M] AND FORCEFULLY REMOVED HER PURSE FROM HER POSSESSION AS SHE WAS WALKING TO HER RESIDENCE. CONTENTS OF [M]’S PURSE INCLUDED HER DEPENDENT ID, RATION CONTROL PLATE, BANK CARD (S/N: UNKNOWN), HOUSE KEYS AND APPROXIMATELY 220,000 WON [yikes!] (KOREAN CURRENCY). [M] RENDERED A WRITTEN SWORN STATEMENT ATTESTING TO THE ABOVE INCIDENT AND WAS ISSUED A DD FORM 2701. [M]’S IDENTIFICATION CARD WAS FLAGGED IN BIDS. A NAME CHECK ON [M] WAS CONDUCTED AND NO PREVIOUS REPORTS OF LOST IDENTIFICATION CARDS WERE FOUND. ECOD IS UNKNOWN INVESTIGATION CONTINUES BY KNP.

Strangest incident of the month? I bet it’s this one. The subjects and the victim are all USFK security guards! Yes, these elderly gentlemen are the same ones who stand post to guard against the first wave of North Korean sappers when the balloon goes up. Read:

DETAILS: AT 0952 HRS, 9 NOV 05, THE 2ID AND AREA I LAW ENFORCEMENT CENTER, MILITARY POLICE D/SGT [ ] WAS NOTIFIED BY [ ] OF AN AGGRAVATED ASSAULT. PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT BETWEEN 2135 HRS, 4 NOV 05 AND 2140 HRS, 4 NOV 05, WHILE CONDUCTING A CHECK OF THE GUARDS, [victim] WAS ASSAULTED BY [four other security guards] AFTER BEING TAKEN OUT OF HIS PATROL VEHICLE, CAUSING MINOR LACERATIONS AND BRUISES TO HIS BODY AND DAMAGE TO HIS FRONT TEETH. FURTHER INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT [the four subjects] ADMITTED TO ASSAULTING [victim] BECAUSE HE HAD WRITTEN THEM UP FOR DRINKING ON DUTY. ON THE MORNING OF 5 NOV 05, [victim] CHECKED HIMSELF INTO THE MUNSAN HOSPITAL WHERE HE UNDERWENT AN EXAMINATION, X-RAYS AND WAS ADMITTED FOR FURTHER OBSERVATION. ALL ACCESS MEDIA HAS BEEN CONFISCATED FROM THE SUBJECTS AND LETTERS OF DEBARMENT ARE CURRENTLY BEING DRAFTED. INVESTIGATION WILL CONTINUE BY KNP. THIS IS A FINAL REPORT.

Those guards are all members of a fairly aggressive union. I wonder what position it will take on any disciplinary action.

The point, of course, isn’t that Koreans are all liars, cheats, thugs, and black marketers. The vast majority aren’t, of course. The point is that just as some Americans commit crimes, so do some Koreans. Unbalanced news coverage does have a tendency to obscure that fact, particularly when it has political overtones. As one who used to receive and read the MP blotter daily, the actual distribution is a great deal more even than what you see in the papers.

We all winced during the recent rash of taxi-brawl stories recently. Let’s remember that those soldiers, probably unlike the persons you see mentioned here, will be subject to criminal prosecution. Based on my experience, most of the Korean subjects here–if they’re caught–are likely to be barred from post, perhaps fined a small sum, and left to go their merry ways.