Supreme Court: Former Army Colonel Who Assaulted Soldier at US Military Base Subject to Military Criminal Law

1st Trial "Domestic Military Base" → 2nd Trial "Military Base Hosting US Troops"
Supreme Court "Corresponds to Base for ROK Armed Forces Military Operations"

A former army colonel who slapped a soldier for not saluting will be punished for assault. Although the military court dismissed the charges, the Supreme Court found the lower court's judgment to be incorrect and sent the case back.

The Supreme Court's Third Division (Presiding Justice No Jeong-hee) announced on the 3rd that it overturned the lower court's dismissal of charges against former Army Colonel Ha Mo, who was indicted for assault, and remanded the case to the Seoul High Court.

Ha, who served as the commander of the Korean Army Support Group of the U.S. Eighth Army stationed in Korea, was prosecuted for slapping a soldier 5 to 8 times in March 2018 at the Pyeongtaek U.S. military base because the soldier did not salute.

The first trial court found him guilty, but the second trial court dismissed the charges, ruling that the military base where the U.S. forces are stationed is not considered a domestic military base and thus the Military Criminal Act does not apply. Additionally, the fact that the victim expressed a wish not to punish Ha before the first trial began was also a basis for the dismissal.

However, the Supreme Court overturned the second trial court's ruling. The Supreme Court held that the unit to which Ha and the victim belonged is a unit of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces supporting the U.S. Forces Korea, and even if the incident occurred on a foreign military base, it is considered a base for the Republic of Korea Armed Forces' military operations.

The Supreme Court regarded the assault as having occurred on a military base where Korea's Military Criminal Act applies. The Military Criminal Act stipulates that assault and threats occurring on military bases, military facilities, military aircraft, etc., are not subject to the non-prosecution upon victim's request rule.

The court stated, "If a soldier is assaulted at a base for the Republic of Korea Armed Forces' military operations, the non-prosecution upon victim's request provision under criminal law does not apply regardless of whether the location is Korean territory or a foreign military base."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.