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Officers from the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency and USFK military police patrol Haeundae Beach in Busan on May 30 to enforce COVID-19 safety regulations. (provided by the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency)

Since American soldiers have created a commotion by violating COVID-19 regulations on Haeundae Beach, in Busan, over several long weekends, the South Korean government has mobilized law enforcement to be ready for action on US Independence Day this Sunday.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Tuesday that the government is planning to assign a joint task force of 474 law enforcement officers — from the city of Busan, Haeundae District, the National Police Agency, and the US military police — to run patrols at Haeundae and Gwangalli beaches from Friday to Sunday.

Seoul is responding to complaints filed by Busan residents and tourists after the long weekends around US Independence Day in 2020 and US Memorial Day (May 29) in 2021. American service members on leave congregated on the streets around Haeundae Beach to drink alcohol and set off large firecrackers, in violation of COVID-19 regulations.

Around 2,000 unmasked foreigners raised a ruckus near Haeundae on May 29, prompting 38 calls to South Korea’s 112 crime tip line, the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency said.

At the time, 107 officers from Haeundae District, the local police, and the US military police tried to quell the disturbance. But they only handed out 360 warnings without issuing a single fine, raising questions about their effectiveness.

“We’ve been deliberating with US Forces Korea and related agencies to ensure this kind of incident doesn’t happen again at Haeundae or elsewhere [. . .] in order to reassure the public and prevent inconvenience,” a MOFA official said, adding, “We’ve decided to actively prepare countermeasures.”

MOFA explained that, as the government agency responsible for the Status of Forces Agreement with the US, it decided to join the joint task force and the ground response.

The last time that MOFA directly supported a crackdown on aberrant behavior by American service members was ten years ago, in 2011. That followed an increase in crimes by service members after US Forces Korea (USFK) lifted a nighttime curfew in Itaewon and other areas.

USFK appears to be stepping up its own enforcement before the long weekend.

“[The US military] seems to have set some strict internal rules,” a MOFA official said, relating that service members hoping to visit Busan have to receive a travel pass from a lieutenant colonel or an officer of higher rank.

Anyone caught breaking the rules will face not only a fine but other disciplinary measures from the USFK, but the specifics of those measures haven’t been confirmed.

By Kim Ji-eun, staff reporter

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