South Koreans shocked, confused over US soldier's defection

South Korean soldiers stand guard during a media tour at the Joint Security Area (JSA) in the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjeom in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, March 3. Reuters-Yonhap

Expert points out lack of communication between USFK and UNC

By Lee Hyo-jin

South Koreans are shocked and embarrassed over American soldier Travis King's deliberate border-crossing to the North, with some people drawing connections between this event and what they perceive as a lack of discipline in U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) personnel.

A former Korean Augmentation to the United States Army (KATUSA) soldier in his 30s, who wished to be identified only by his surname Kim, said he couldn't believe that a U.S. soldier fled north.

"I've seen some U.S. soldiers with behavior issues getting into trouble, but not to this scale," he told The Korea Times.

"I noticed that a lot of U.S soldiers deployed here are relatively young and less experienced. And due to the emotional stress of being stationed far away from home, some of them ended up causing trouble involving alcohol and violence. I think King may have been one of those troublemakers who required more attention."

King, a 23-year-old Army private, dashed across the inter-Korean border during a civilian tour of the Joint Security Area (JSA) in the border truce village of Panmunjeom, in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday.

Until recently, he had been jailed in a South Korean prison for about 50 days after failing to pay a 5 million won ($3,900) fine on charges of damaging a police vehicle. The soldier was to be flown to Fort Bliss in Texas on Monday, where he would have faced additional disciplinary measures and discharge from the military.

Instead of boarding the flight to the U.S., however, King walked out of the airport and somehow joined a pre-booked JSA group tour.

A portrait of American soldier Travis King is displayed as his grandfather, Carl Gates, talks about his grandson in Kenosha, Wis., July 19. AP-Yonhap

Kim pointed out that the USFK's relatively lax personnel management could have made it easier for the troubled soldier to flee to the North. "Generally speaking, I felt that the USFK isn't very strict on its troops," he said, mentioning that he once witnessed a drunk U.S. soldier sneaking off the base at night.

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King's abrupt border-crossing has sparked confusion among the South Korean public, some of whom demand transparency and thorough investigations. Many are expressing their concerns and views on the incident, voicing their questions about the lax security measures that might have led to this situation.

Park Sang-hyuk, a 42-year-old Seoul resident, said the USFK should conduct a thorough investigation into King's defection and disclose the results to the public.

"I don't know the exact rules and regulations of the U.S. military, but I think there should be a thorough investigation to determine who is responsible for the soldier's desertion," he said.

While an investigation by the U.S. authorities is ongoing, criticisms are rising as to why the military escorts left the airport after seeing King pass through customs, without verifying whether or not he boarded the flight.

"This whole story is absurd and confusing," said Kim So-hyun, a 30-year-old office worker in Gyeonggi Province. "Who would have imagined that crossing the border would be this easy?"

It took only seconds for King to run across the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) at the heavily fortified inter-Korean border. Some 10 military personnel from the United Nations Command (UNC) and the Republic of Korea Army chased after him, but he evaded them.

"This incident has revealed the bitter reality that South Korea's sovereignty cannot be fully exercised regarding issues to the USFK," said Cho Han-bum, a senior researcher at the state-run Korea Institute for National Unification. "Even though King's escape from the airport and his trip to Panmunjeom occurred on our soil, the South Korean government had limited access to what was going on."

Cho also said the fact that King was able to join the JSA tour, for which visitors are required to present their passports, has exposed a lack of communication channels between the USFK and the UNC.

"Had there been a channel through which the USFK could swiftly notify the UNC about problematic soldiers or deserters, the UNC wouldn't have approved King's application, or would have been able to identify him when he showed up for the tour," he said.

In response to The Korea Times' inquiry on its personnel management, Friday, the USFK said, "We are currently conducting an investigation into the incident. We will publish more information once the investigation is complete."

A North Korean guard post is seen from Imjingak Park on the South Korean side of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

While North Korea remains silent about King's condition and whereabouts, the U.S. Department of Defense described the soldier's current duty status as "absent without leave."

"We have not heard any communication or correspondence from the North Koreans on this incident," Defense Department spokesperson Sabrina Singh said during a briefing on Thursday (local time).