`Itaewon murder' suspect denies all allegations

Arthur Patterson, the suspect of a 1997 murder in Itaewon, arrives at Incheon International Airport, Wednesday, after he had been extradited to Korea 16 years after he fled to the U.S. / Yonhap

Patterson extradited to Seoul for trial

By Kim Se-jeong

Arthur Patterson, 35, a Korean-American suspected of killing a Korean university student in 1997, was sent back to Korea for trial Wednesday, 18 years after the alleged murder and 16 years after he fled Korea.

He arrived at Incheon International Airport in handcuffs at 4:26 a.m., accompanied by Korean law enforcement officers.

Patterson, in a white shirt and trousers, was surrounded by dozens of journalists as soon as he appeared at the airport. He seemed agitated in front of a throng of reporters and camera flashes; but adamantly denied the charges against him.

Asked whether he killed the 22-year-old student, he said “No.”

Asked whether Edward Lee, another Korean-American who was initially tried as the culprit, was the murderer, Patterson said, “The same person I have always known killed him.” Lee was eventually acquitted of the murder after having been initially found guilty.

Asked to say something to the victim’s family members, he said, “It’s not right that they have to keep going through this pain over and over and over, but it’s not right that I am here either. I am still in shock that I am here. I am just overwhelmed right now.”

Patterson was taken to Seoul Detention Center where he will be incarcerated until his trial is over.

The trial will take place at the Seoul Central District Court and will begin sometime in October — the date has not yet been fixed.

On April 3, 1997, Cho Choong-pil, 22, a college student in Seoul, was found dead in the bathroom of a Burger King restaurant in Itaewon, Seoul.

He had been stabbed nine times in the neck and chest. Several days later, the police arrested Patterson and Lee as the main suspects.

Lee was charged with murder and Patterson, with possession of an illegal weapon and the destruction of evidence.

Patterson, who was sentenced to 18 months in prison, was released in August 1998 in a special pardon where 2,000 convicts went free. One year after, when the government mistakenly forgot to renew its travel ban on him, he went to the U.S.

The prosecution reopened the investigation in 2009, seeking extradition. This came after the release of a popular movie based on the killing.

In May 2011, he was detained in Los Angeles, but kept delaying extradition by submitting multiple habeas corpus petitions. They were finally rejected.