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Community Forum · Est. 2006
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#1
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11-26-2009, 05:19 PM
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Yangju Incident: Shin Hyo-sun and Shim Mi-seon Crushed by US Army Vehicle, 2002
This is the Yangju highway incident. On the morning of June 13, 2002, two 14 year old South Korean schoolgirls, Shin Hyo-sun and Shim Mi-seon, were struck and killed by a US Army M60 armored vehicle-launched bridge on a narrow road in Yangju, north of Seoul, as they walked to a friend's birthday party; the day was a local election holiday and schools were closed. The vehicle, nearly as wide as the lane, was returning from training; the driver could not see the girls, and an intercom warning from the commander did not reach him. The driver, Sgt. Mark Walker, and commander, Sgt. Fernando Nino, were charged with negligent homicide and acquitted by US military juries in November 2002, a verdict that set off the largest anti-American protests South Korea had seen in years and began the candlelight vigil movement that became a fixture of Korean politics. The US had refused to transfer jurisdiction under the Status of Forces Agreement; President Bush apologized, and each family received compensation. A widely repeated claim that the vehicle stopped on top of the girls and then backed over them is contested and was not supported at trial. |