hankyoreh

US Lt. Gen. Jan-Marc Jouas

By Kim Gi-seong, south Gyeonggi correspondent and Ha Eo-young, staff reporter

The USFK Commander publicly apologized to citizens and the Pyeongtaek community on July 8 for an incident in which military police handcuffed three South Korean civilians during a parking dispute in front of the Osan US Air Force base.

But USFK military police (MPs) told South Korean police that they had legitimately carried out their duty after perceiving a physical threat.

Pyeongtaek Police Station announced Sunday that it had summoned three of the MPs for more than four and a half hours of questioning at around 8 pm Saturday in connection with the incident.

The MPs, who reported to the station voluntarily, said they perceived a physical threat after a 35-year-old South Korean civilian, identified by the surname Yang, failed to comply with a demand to move his car and engaged in finger-pointing and shoving at the scene. They told the police that they had exercised their duties according to the manual, which advises using handcuffs in such instances.

But arrest regulations in the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) between the US and South Korea state that US MPs must comply with the agreement with South Korean authorities outside of USFK facilities and zones, and that exercises of police authority are limited to enforcing rules and order among USFK personnel and taking necessary action to ensure their safety. This means that the MPs should have summoned South Korean police, since the incident arose with a South Korean civilian while the officers were patrolling outside the base.

Yang and the other two civilians who were handcuffed told police that they had explained the situation to the MPs and complied with their demands but were illegally detained, and then forcibly handcuffed when they protested.

The police plan to finish their questioning of four other MPs who were sent to the scene before deciding whether to take criminal action.

In a press release Sunday, USFK Commander James Sherman apologized to the community. Sherman added that the individuals involved in the incident would be suspended until the investigation findings are released, and that USFK would continue to cooperate with the South Korean police’s investigation.

USFK Deputy Commander Jan-Marc Jouas, who is commander of the 7th US Air Force, the MPs’ unit, also said at a press conference Sunday that the incident was being investigated for any SOFA violations in the town patrol procedures.

Jouas declined to make a statement on whether the MPs had used excessive force against civilians or refused to turn them over to the police deployed to the scene, which he said would be determined through the police investigation.

Lee Baek-soon, director-general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s North American affairs bureau, summoned Jouas to the ministry’s office in Seoul’s Doryeom neighborhood Saturday to make a complaint over the incident. The city of Pyeongtaek also issued a statement urging an apology from USFK, calling the incident “unacceptable.”

Yang, the manager of a musical instrument store on Rodeo Road, a thoroughfare located near the USFK base in Pyeongtaek’s Sinjang neighborhood, recalled his experience, saying, “We cannot have US soldiers armed with live rounds doing that sort of thing to civilians.”

Yang’s forcible handcuffing by the MPs took place at around 8:15 pm on July 5. Three MPs were on town patrol when they asked him to move his car, a Damas, which was parked in front of his store.

Rodeo Road, which runs for roughly 500 meters in front of the base’s main gate, is designated a no stopping or parking zone by city ordinance.

Yang explained in English that he had only parked briefly in front of his own store to move items. After repeated demands from the MPs, he finally moved the vehicle.

But the MPs entered the store and told him they had called the South Korean police and that he should wait. Yang proposed closing the door and waiting in front. At that point, four MPs handcuffed him, as well as a 42-year-old passerby identified as Shin who complained about their harsh actions.

At approximately 8:35, four police officers from the Songtan police substation arrived at the scene and told the MPs to remove the handcuffs. However, the MPs proceeded to take Yang and Shin to the entrance of the base, located about 150 meters away. Following a dispute that ended with Yang’s 32-year-old brother also in handcuffs after protesting the situation, the three civilians were freed at around 9 p.m. Yang suffered bruising to his face, knees, shoulders, and elbows.

The Pyeongtaek Police Station questioned three of the MPs that evening. On Saturday, it sent a document to USFK ordering seven MPs with the 51st Fighter Wing to report at 2 p.m. Sunday for questioning. USFK did not comply with the request. At around 8 p.m. on Saturday, three of the MPs appeared voluntarily for questioning.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]