Korean and U.S. authorities are working to introduce new guidelines that could lead to U.S. military personnel accused of felonies transferred to Korean custody before indictment on a case-by-case basis, a Seoul official said Thursday.
The move comes amid rekindled calls for revising the controversial Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) that governs the legal status of American soldiers stationed in South Korea, following a U.S. soldier's rape of a teenage Korean girl that set off anti-U.S. protests.
Under the new guidelines, if adopted, the U.S. will "favorably consider" handing over suspects accused of "heinous crimes" such as murder or rape to South Korea before they have been indicted, the official said on the condition of anonymity.
Currently, SOFA only gives Korean police the right to take U.S. military personnel into custody if the suspect is caught red-handed in such serious crimes.
SKorea and the U.S. will hold a joint SOFA committee on Wednesday in Seoul to consider adding the new guidelines to the agreement in the form of an "agreed recommendation," the foreign ministry official said.
The new guidelines are similar to those that the U.S. and Japan agreed to after a 1995 rape in Okinawa, the official said.
"There are some ambiguous points on the handover of U.S. military suspects under the current SOFA rules," the official said. "South Korea and the U.S. are reviewing some improvements by applying similar cases between the U.S. and Japan in the past."
Next week's SOFA committee will be led by Kim Hyoung-zhin, director-general of the foreign ministry's North American Affairs Bureau, and Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Remington, deputy commander of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), the official said.
Public affairs officials for the USFK were not immediately available for comment.
Critics have said the long-standing SOFA, last amended in 2001, is unjust because it goes too far in protecting U.S. soldiers.
Last month, the U.S. soldier convicted of raping the teenage girl was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
The 21-year-old army private from the 2nd Infantry Division stationed in Dongducheon, 40 kilometers north of Seoul, was found guilty of raping the 18-year-old girl near his unit in the early hours of Sept. 24.
The soldier broke into the girl's rented room, sexually assaulted her for several hours and tormented her after threatening her with a pair of scissors, according to police documents. He also robbed her of 5,000 won ($4.50).
About 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War. (Yonhap)