U.S. 2nd Infantry Division soldiers are seen during the U.S. 2nd Infantry Division/Combined Forces Command best squad competition at U.S. Army Garrison Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province,  May 4, 2023. Yonhap

A U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) serviceman was apprehended on Sept. 29 for stealing a car in southern Seoul’s Gangnam District. He drove approximately 50 kilometers south, until police stopped him in Osan, Gyeonggi Province. At the time of his arrest, his blood alcohol content was at a level high enough to warrant the revocation of his driver’s license.

Earlier that month, another American was arrested for physically assaulting a taxi driver, claiming the fare was excessive. The driver charged 77,000 won ($57) for the ride from Seoul’s Hongdae area to Dongducheon in Gyeonggi Province — a reasonable amount — but the assault left the driver with facial fractures requiring three weeks of treatment.

In July, police arrested a USFK serviceman for threatening customers and staff with a kitchen knife while intoxicated at a restaurant in Hongdae, charging him with intimidation using a weapon and obstruction of business.

These incidents are among the hundreds of crimes committed by USFK personnel each year. While the 28,500-strong U.S. military presence symbolizes 추천 the strong Korea-U.S. military alliance, rising crime rates involving American military personnel have led to growing calls for stricter penalties.

According to the 2024 legal yearbook published by the Ministry of Justice earlier this month, the number of crimes committed by USFK personnel has increased steadily over the past five years. The data revealed that there were 599 cases in 2023 involving 626 personnel, nearly double the 351 cases reported in 2018.

There were 444 cases in 2019, followed by 541 in 2020, 457 in 2021 and 521 in 2022.

Despite this upward trend, investigations and legal actions regarding these crimes remain insufficient, critics said, due primarily to restrictions imposed by the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA).