U.S. troops, S. Koreans mark somber anniversary

June 14, 2003

By Jeremy Kirk, Pacific Stars and Stripes
Pacific edition, Sunday, June 15, 2003

SEOUL - Thousands bowed their heads across South Korea on Friday on the first anniversary of the death of two young girls killed by a U.S. military vehicle.

The protests intensified after two sergeants involved in the accident - in which the girls, who were walking in the road, were struck by an M60 Armored Vehicle Launched Mine Clearing Line Charge (AVLM) as it rounded an uphill curve - were acquitted in November in a U.S. military court. Koreans demanded they should have been tried in a South Korean court, but the status of forces agreement gave the case's jurisdiction to the U.S. military.