The Ripple of the ‘US Armored Car Fatal Accident’ Expanded

Civic groups and college students created a stir by a radical demonstration with entering the headquarters of the second division of the US Army requesting a ‘fact finding’ and ‘revision of the unfair Status of Force Agreement’ in relation to the accident of the death of two middle school girls by the American armored car in Yangju, Kyung-Gi Province on the 13th.

Some 300 people such as the members of the civic groups such as ‘the Citizens of Euijungbu Solidarity to Reclaim the US Army Bases as Our Land’ and college students had a protest demonstration in front of the Camp Red Cloud, the headquarter of the second division of the US Army in Gareung-Dong, Euijungbu, Kyung-Gi Province on the 26th, and struggled with the US Army trying to break in to the US Army base. During that, the US soldiers arrested two reporters of an Internet broadcasting service ‘the Voice of People’ and transferred them to the Korean police.

▽The accrual of the accident〓 At 10:45AM on the 13th, on the 56 local highway in Hyochon-Ri, Gwangjug-Myun, Yangju-Gun, two local girls Shin, Hyo-Soon (14, Junior, Choyang Middle School) and Sim, Mi-Sun (14, Junior, Choyang Middle School) were killed by an armored car of the construction battalion of the second division of the US Army.

A US Army official said, “it is difficult to see the right side from the driver’s seat so the assistant is helping the driver; however, at the time of the accident, the driver was not able to hear the warning of the assistant, who warned the driver twice after he noticed the girls 30m away.”

The US Army official added, “it was after the accident by the time the driver stop the armored car.”

▽Raising a question〓 The National Countermeasure Committee formed by the civic groups right after the accident raised a question, “didn’t the driver intentionally turn the car toward the girls in order to pass another armored car from the opposite direction?” The committee claimed that they could not understand that they couldn’t communicate in the car.

In response to this, a US Army official said, “the noise got louder when the car is climbing the hill so it was difficult to identify both human voice and radio communications.”

▽Demonstration and breaking into the US Army base〓 The civic groups that were raising questions right after the accident had a protest demonstration in front of the Camp Red Cloud from 4PM on the 26th. Some of the participants struggled fiercely in the process of breaking into the base cutting the wire entanglements with cutters. During that two reporters of the ‘Voice of People’ such as Mr. Han(32) and Ms. Lee(31) who were trying to photograph the inside of the base were arrested by the US Army and seized the film and transferred to the Korean police.

The Countermeasure Committee had an overnight protest demonstration in front of the Euijungbu Police on the 26th saying that the US Army abused the two reporters with riot batons and carried them in chains. The Countermeasure Committee continued the demonstration on the 27th and it plans to have a massive demonstration in front of the US Army Base in Yongsan, Seoul on the 29th.

The Countermeasure Committee is asking for the fact-finding, official apology of the US President, revision of the SOFA, and closing of the US Army bases.

Meanwhile, a US Army official refuted that they arrested 2 trespassers according to their rule, and they did not abuse them or use chains in the process.

argus@donga.com