Province strives to reduce crimes committed by GIs

President Bush shakes hands with a soldier after giving his speech at a camp in Korea on November 11, 2005. Yonhap News

Increasing number of soldiers' families in S.K. seen as key

If American soldiers stationed in South Korea live with their families, will they commit less crimes? The question is being posed by the Gyeonggi Provincial Office, which is considering a measure to let more American soldiers bring their families to Korea in the hope that the crime rate among U.S soldiers living there will be lessened. The reduction of sex crimes is a particular focus of the proposed measure.

As up to 65 percent of U.S. Forces Korea are posted in Gyeonggi Province, it has borne the brunt of crimes committed by American soldiers throughout the last 60 years.

According to the Gyeonggi provincial government, in the case of Germany and Japan, U.S. soldiers who took their families with them during their tour of duty abroad stood at 74 percent and 72 percent, respectively, while in South Korea the number was about 10 percent as of 2002. As a result, more crimes are being committed by those soldiers in South Korea, the government speculated.

Accordingly, the province is going to request a private company to perform a survey on the reality of letting American soldiers be accompanied by their families and conditions needed to bring families into Korea. For the survey, the U.S. soldiers will be asked questions such as why married ones would or would not want to bring their families with them to Korea. The private company will also look at what policies are in place in regions that house soldiers along with their families.

Gyeonggi Province is going to prepare for projects such as constructing foreign schools and improving housing facilities for the families, in accordance with the survey results.

Jeong Gi-seon, an official at the Gyeonggi Province Family and Women's Development Institute, said, "Various possible measures have been studied in order to lessen crimes committed by the American soldiers. One of the most fundamental preventive measures is to help the soldiers to have a stable life by allowing them to bring their families with them. When the survey is completed, related preparatory work can begin.''

Currently, about 35,000 American soldiers are posted in South Korea.