US soldier fined $2,250 for attacking South Korean taxi driver

CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea – A U.S. soldier stationed in South Korea pleaded guilty to assaulting a taxi driver in Seoul and was fined about $2,250 last month.

According to a ruling by the Seoul Central District Court on August 14, the unidentified soldier admitted to getting into the taxi at 4:11 a.m. on February 17 in the capital's Gangnam district.

South Korean law enforcement agencies and courts generally do not identify defendants except in extreme cases, such as murder.

After getting into the back seat of the taxi, the 52-year-old driver told the trooper that another passenger had already reserved the taxi, the court document said.

The soldier then exited the taxi and approached the driver, who then got out. The soldier then pushed the driver in the chest, choked him and punched him in the face several times, court records show.

The attack carried out by the soldier was “not easy” and his conduct during the incident was “very bad,” Judge Goo Changgyu said in his verdict, according to the document.

In addition to the $2,250 fine, the trooper paid the driver the same amount in compensation, the document says.

The 8th Army and the 2nd Infantry Division did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

At least one other U.S. soldier has been accused of attacking a South Korean taxi driver this year.

Earlier this month, police in Dongducheon City claimed that a U.S. soldier attacked a taxi driver near Camp Casey, about 40 kilometers north of Seoul.

The 21-year-old soldier allegedly threw the 73-year-old driver to the ground by his neck, according to Dongducheon Police Station. Police may file charges later this week.

There are around 28,500 US soldiers stationed in South Korea, most of them at Camp Humphreys, about 65 kilometres south of the capital.