YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea — At least three U.S. soldiers are under U.S. “control” and five others are being investigated in connection with a series of incidents this weekend in South Korea.
In the most serious case, a 17th Aviation Brigade soldier stationed at Camp Humphreys has been accused of stabbing a South Korean civilian. The soldier will be questioned by South Korean police later this week, officials said.
An 8th Army spokesman confirmed Monday the accused is being held by U.S. military authorities but declined to release the soldier’s name, saying official charges had not yet been filed in the case. South Korean police say they are investigating four other U.S. soldiers and a KATUSA (Korean Augmentees to the U.S. Army) in connection with the alleged stabbing, which they said occurred early Saturday morning on a Seoul street.
The victim remains in a local hospital with serious but nonlife-threatening injuries, South Korean officials said. Officials from 8th Army released a statement offering an apology and promising full cooperation in the investigation.
In a separate incident, South Korean police said they arrested two U.S. soldiers in Uijongbu about midnight Saturday after an altercation with a taxi driver. The soldiers were handed over to U.S. military police, 8th Army officials said, and likely will be questioned by South Korean police later this week.
In a third incident, Uijongbu police said a 2nd Infantry Division soldier was arrested about 3:30 a.m. Sunday and accused of stealing two purses containing about $1,000 from a karaoke parlor. Police officials said they handed over the soldier to U.S. authorities and likely would call him back for questioning later this week. U.S. officials said they had not yet received a report on the incident.
“As always, we continue to educate our soldiers on proper behavior and respect when interacting with our ROK hosts and neighbors,” read the 8th Army statement released after the alleged stabbing incident, “to ensure our servicemembers are respectful and sincere guests of our hosts.”
Jennifer Kleckner contributed to this report.
