From kirc@igc.apc.org
Date: Tue, 17 Sep 1996 08:28:02 -0700 (PDT)
From: Korea Information & Resource Center/Korea Report 
To: james_west@msn.com, kirc@igc.apc.org
Cc: moogoonghwa@UCSD.EDU
Subject: RE: SOFA legal issues

Dear Mr. West:

Thank you for clarifying legal issues surrounding the SOFA 
negotiations. It is a good sign that the two sides are hammering out 
the differences to find mutually-agreeable treaty.  It would have been 
better if negotiations started much earlier. Meanwhile, the historical 
fact is that despite growing crimes on Korean civilians committed by US 
soldiers, the prosecution rate is the lowest among host countries 
(around 3-5 percent, I think). For various reasons-- the legal issues 
in SOFA, reluctance of ROK authorities to pursue prosecution even when 
they can do so, and the tendency of authorities to put these incidents 
"under the rug" (so as not to disrupt amicable US-SK relations)-- many 
crimes committed by US soldiers went unpunished. Only with recent 
organized campaigns by citizens' groups have these incidents come to 
national attention in Korea.  They are raising various issues 
concerning the impact n civilians of US military presence in Korea: 
relocation of military bases, environmental cleanup of bases, 
compensation of damages during military exercises, noise pollution of 
fighter jets, damages done by live ammunition practices, etc. More and 
more, US military is being held accountable for their actions in 
Korea.  


Hyuk-Kyo Suh
Washington, DC






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