Lost in translation: USFK soldiers booked for 'rescue' assault
When the soldiers approached, the two men tried to explain the situation. But the effort fizzled due to an apparent language barrier, leading the Americans to misunderstand situation. / Yonhap
By Lee Han-soo
Two soldiers from the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) were booked Wednesday for assaulting two Korean men after mistakenly thinking they were attacking two girls.
The incident happened early Wednesday in Gwangju. The men were actually trying to break up a fight between the girls.
When the soldiers approached, the two men tried to explain the situation. But the effort fizzled due to an apparent language barrier, leading the Americans to misunderstand situation.
The men who intervened in the girls’ fight did not know them.
The misunderstanding was cleared after police arrived at the scene. They said the incident occurred because “the men and the Americans failed to communicate with each other.”
But the victims did not drop the charges because they felt the soldiers took the situation too lightly during the initial investigation.
Police turned over the Americans to the USFK military police under the Status of Forces Agreement.