Declaration

Arrest, confine, prosecute and punish the U.S. soldier, Private John Christopher Humphreys, to the fullest extent of the Korean law for attempting to murder Mr. Hung Shik Park.

At two in the morning on May 15th, in the Shinchon area of Seoul, an intoxicated American soldier allegedly attempted to commit murder. Private John Christopher Humphreys, from Camp Humphrey in Pyungtaek, together with five other drunken American soldiers, committed a terrible outrage against innocent Korean passers-by. Private Humphreys stabbed Mr. Hung Shik Park in the throat when Mr. Park attempted to stop the ugly outrage by the soldiers. Fortunately, Mr. Park survived, after being taken to Yonsei University’s Severance Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery.

We, along with all the Korean people, are furiously outraged against Private Humphreys and other U.S. soldiers for committing a brutal, wicked and ugly crime that could take human lives with no sense of being human, wounding Mr. Park seriously and inflicting an unforgettable injury on Mr. Park and his family, and we strongly condemn those U.S. soldiers accountable for this terrible crime.

Above all, we are even more furious because this crime is not just a mere case of violent assault, but a serious case of alleged attempted murder. SPARK (Solidarity for Peace and Reunification of Korea) questioned witnesses of the incident and learned that Private Humphreys had engaged in every imaginable kind of bad behavior on a public road. They yelled and screamed in the middle of traffic lanes, lying on the pavement and disrupting traffic. They stopped a taxi and kicked its bumper and hood. The witnesses further testify that Private Humphreys did not just stab Mr. Park by mistake while threatening him. They say that Private Humphreys aimed his 25-cm long military knife at Mr. Park’s throat for a minute and then intentionally stabbed him deep in the left side of his throat. This definitely proves that this case must be regarded as an incident of attempted murder, because Private Humphreys knew that stabbing Mr. Park or anyone in the throat with a 25-cm military knife could be fatal.

In this respect, we strongly condemn those Korean police officers who are trying to read the mood of the U.S. military in Korea and handle this terrible crime as a mere case of violent assault. We very strongly urge the Korean police to make a thorough and complete investigation of this alleged attempted murder committed by Private Humphreys, disclose the result of the investigation immediately and openly and charge, confine, prosecute and punish the man who attempted to commit murderer.

Also, we strongly warn that, in the event that the Korean and U.S. authorities in charge of this case try to conceal the facts and truth about this ugly crime and fail to bring Private Humphreys and the other responsible persons to justice under Korean law, they will have no choice but to face a very strong nationwide campaign against them by all the Korean people.

Furthermore, we are shocked and outraged to see that those pitiful creatures in the U.S. military forces, including Private Humphreys, are still behaving shamelessly, impudently and disgracefully denying their inhuman crime instead of feeling sorry for what they have done.

With this kind of ugly behavior, the U.S. military in Korea are insulting and humiliating the Korean people and the precious rights of the Korean justice system. Further, this clearly indicates that the inherent and unjustifiable arrogance of the U.S. military against the Korean people has never changed, even after the terrible murder of two innocent Korean middle school girls, Shin Hyo Soon and Shim Mi Sun, in 2002.

As usual, the U.S. military authorities merely issued a routine announcement of their feelings of regret for this incident. This is a direct insult against the will of the Korean people, who hope to receive a definite promise that the U.S. military will prevent the recurrence of such crimes, through a wholehearted apology to the Korean people and a close examination into the guilt of the criminals and severe punishment of all those responsible for this terrible, ugly and inexcusable crime.

Lastly, we very strongly urge again that the Korean and U.S. authorities step forward to the complete modification, correction and amendment of the SOFA, as we reconfirmed in connection with this incident that there is absolutely no way to put an end to crimes committed by U.S. soldiers unless the unfair SOFA is completely modified, corrected and amended. In particular, all unfair terms and conditions must be immediately modified, corrected and amended so that the Korean law enforcement agencies can perform initial investigations concerning U.S. military personnel who are suspected of having committed crimes, and can take them into custody upon prosecution. For serious crimes such as this one, SOFA must allow the Korean law enforcement agencies to confine U.S. military criminal suspects even before criminal prosecution.

May 16. 2004
Solidarity for Peace and Reunification of Korea
Citizens’ Action for Modification of Unfair SOFA