S. Korea should not pay for U.S. soldiers' misdeeds: lawmaker

A status of forces agreement between Seoul and Washington has resulted in South Korea being unfairly forced to pay for the misdeeds of U.S. soldiers, a South Korean lawmaker said Monday.

About 30,000 U.S. troops are currently stationed in South Korea as a deterrent against North Korea, a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.

The Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), agreed in 1967 between Seoul and Washington to govern U.S. soldiers here, stipulates that South Korea's treasury should pay for a quarter of the cost of legal violations by on-duty U.S. soldiers.

"For the past three years, South Korea has paid 1.6 billion won (US$1.6 million) for some 1,200 violations solely attributable to U.S. soldiers," Rep. Im Jong-in of the ruling Uri Party said in a statement, quoting a report from the Ministry of Justice. The breaches include mostly traffic violations and outbursts of violence, Im's aide said.

"Clause 23 of SOFA, which requires us to pay for 25 percent of the legal breaches by U.S. military personnel while on duty, should be removed," Im said, calling the agreement "unfair."

The SOFA has been amended twice already. South Korean activists argue the agreement is an unfair treaty that is incapable of forcing U.S. soldiers to assume full responsibility for their illegal behavior.

Seoul, Oct. 30 (Yonhap News)