By UPDATE #2: Here is a map that shows where the attack on the ROK Marines took place:
For those that don’t know this location is very close to the DMZ with North Korea thus the reason for the heavy ROK Marine presence.
Additionally here is another graphic that shows the sequence of events of how the stolen vehicle struck the two Marines from behind, then the killer stabbed the Marines and took their weapons, before escaping across the bridge back to the mainland:
Notice how the killer chose a location to attack the two Marines that was close to a bridge to escape to the mainland across. Also a witness saw the attack happened and called police who are now under big criticism for not capturing the killer despite a five hour man hunt. During this time the killer was able to drive all the way to Anseong using the highway to dump his stolen vehicle. Those of us who understand the nature of Korean police I’m sure are not surprised by their incompentence. There is also a 20 million won reward out there for anyone providing information leading to the killer’s arrest.
The more I read about this attack, the more convinced I am becoming that this was a highly planned operation.
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UPDATE #1: A composite sketch of the killer has been released:
That should narrow it down, this composite looks like every other young male in Korea in need of a shave. Video footage of the killer’s stolen truck driving through a toolbooth has been released as well:
Here is a picture of the killer’s truck after it was torched:
Here is a picture of the deceased ROK Marine Private Park Young-chul:
Sad to see a good looking 20 year old like this brutally murdered by this killer. Here is a picture of the surviving Marine Sergeant Lee Jae-hyuk who fought off the attacker:
SGT Lee is still in critical condition as is evident by this picture, but is expected to survive.
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Original Posting:
This is one suspicious story that is going on in Korea right now:
One Korean Marine is dead and another is injured after they were struck by a jeep and robbed while on the way to their unit in Gangwha-gun, Incheon on Thursday morning.
The Marines were returning to their unit after guard duty at a coastal post when they were hit by a Korando jeep at 5:55 a.m. After hitting them with his vehicle, the driver attacked the men and made off with a K-2 rifle, 75 bullets, a grenade and six explosive shells (similar to grenades).
Sgt. Lee Jae-hyuk and Pvt. Park Young-chul were taken to a nearby hospital, where Pvt. Park died Thursday evening.
The attacker is described as a 170-cm tall man in his 30s wearing a beige jacket. He was carrying a weapon which he used to stab Sgt. Lee in the face and thighs. He took the Ganghwado beltway to escape.
Police received a report that the attacker’s jeep passed Cheongbuk toll gate on the highway between Pyeongtaek and Anseong in Gyeonggi Province at 7:38 p.m. and gave chase.
Police found a Korando jeep on fire without number plates under a bridge in Hwaseong city in Gyeonggi Province, six km from the Cheongbuk toll gate at 10:40 p.m. Police believe it was the same vehicle used in the attack and they are searching for the driver. [Chosun Ilbo]
It would seem this guy must be receiving help from someone if he torched his vehicle. It is unlikely he could have torched his vehicle and than walked away with the weapons unless he had a pre-planned car parked near where he torched the first vehicle. It was also determined the torched vehicle was stolen. Than the fact that he knew when the guards were changing shifts and what they were armed with is also suspicious. These facts make this story seem less like an act of a lone crazy guy but in fact something that was planned out.
The Korea Times is speculating that the man may be part of a criminal group planning to use the weapons to rob banks or as part of an attack on a presidential candidate. The Joong Ang Ilbo is reporting that rumors of an assassination of the leading conservative presidential candidate Lee Myung-bak by pro-North Korean leftists has been circulating since September. To add weight to this is that the killers truck was abandoned not to far from where Lee was scheduled to campaign at in Cheongju. Lee Myung-bak has cancelled all his public street campaigns until the suspect is caught in response. Osan Airbase has also strengthened security and limited access as well until the subject is caught.
Tragic story; my thoughts go out to the victims’ families and let’s hope the criminals involved are quickly caught.
You can read more over at the Marmot’s Hole & Lost Nomad.
6:06 am on December 8th, 2007 1
DPRK and possibly even Roh himself is behind this very desperate act.
There are billions of dollars at stake here. Do you honestly think a totalitarian dictator is going to sit back and watch his paycheck dry up? This is exactly the kind of stunt a dictator who rules by absolute force would pull. He think everyone will be cowed by this, but he’s very, very wrong.
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7:03 am on December 8th, 2007 2
My gut instinct says that the latter, an assassination or some other lone act of violence, is the aim of the thieves, not bank robberies. The expected intense manhunt would deter ordinary criminals from making such a brazen move. The would-be assassins probably have a lift back north awaiting in the waters off Seokcho.
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8:14 am on December 8th, 2007 3
Agreed. This all started on Kangwon-do which is significant only because it lies very close to NK. Also keep in mind that there were several SOF infiltrations in the 90s when KJI took over various positions. Recently, KJI’s second son has started working for the regime. Is this the beginning of several more displays of loyalty?
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9:16 am on December 8th, 2007 4
I’m not convinced they are North Korean spies because it seems like they would be able to smuggle weapons into the country covertly if they wanted to take out Lee. Also Lee is not the Norks worst nightmare either because the South Korean gravy train will continue under Lee, just not as much as before.
This is probably a criminal gang or some crazy leftist group that needs the weapons for something. Like Sonagi I don’t think bank robberies is the reason that they took these weapons either.
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9:42 am on December 8th, 2007 5
If the thieves were NK agents, it is possible that weapons were brought in, but for some reason are insufficient for whatever is being planned. I don’t think crazies could pull off a carefully planned and executed heist like this. If it was a criminal gang, when would they actually use an assault rifle or shells? Any crime involving such weaponry would make headlines and compel the police to round up suspects and coerce them into confessing.
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11:01 am on December 8th, 2007 6
We’ll probably have the answer to who this was in short order. Those weapons were stolen for a purpose…
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11:31 am on December 8th, 2007 7
Not sure of the significance but this incident took place in the same area the 1871 incident with the American fleet took place.
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2:18 pm on December 8th, 2007 8
[...] and a whole lot more information can be found here. Posted at 0041Z | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0) « December 07, 2007 | Main Site [...]
2:58 pm on December 8th, 2007 9
People! They are taking AFN off Korean cable!!1!!one!!11!!!
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5:30 pm on December 8th, 2007 10
It sure seems like the hard way to get a gun.
I’d just find an SP in Songtan and slip up behind him with a two-by-four. Osan would cover it up as best they could. It might not even make the news… and there wouldn’t be 47 million people looking for you. Bonus: National anger would be focused at careless USFK more than the thief.
And, it’s not like you can’t find a lone SP with an M9 and a couple extra mags lurking around the juicy ghetto about 2 hours after curfew… attention focused just a little farther forward than his six.
It’s amazing the Norks haven’t done it already… followed by a shooting spree in a playground with a stolen USFK firearm. Wow. That would certainly drive a wedge in the Alliance.
For Round Two, you could use that M9 to take out a whole group of guys with NVGs, M4s and a SAW or two… as they play OPFOR behind Osan during the next exercise… helped by the fact they can only cross the river in a designated “safe” area where you can be waiting.
Once properly equipped, it gets a lot easier to change the course of history.
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2:26 am on December 9th, 2007 11
“It sure seems like the hard way to get a gun.”
First of all, those aren’t just “guns.”
Second, they’re not traceable to NK, so they have immediate value in terms of anonymity.
Third, what’s so hard about running a pedestrian over with an SUV? Seems pretty easy to me.
The DPRK have done plenty to drive wedges in the alliance. The Inter-Korean Summit was one monumental effort to drive a wedge into the alliance, as is the faux peace treaty that Roh keeps promoting. None of it is working, so I’m guessing they’re getting desperate.
We’ll see soon enough.
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9:20 am on December 9th, 2007 12
Sonagi: “The would-be assassins probably have a lift back north awaiting in the waters off Seokcho.”
Kukusu: “Agreed. This all started on Kangwon-do…”
GI Korea’s added map has probably resolved this issue, but the attack took place on the West Coast, not the East Coast – Kang-hwa, not Kang-won. A few years ago, Korean soldiers had their weapons stolen in Gangwondo.
Despite that, my wife, a member of the Korean Coast Guard in Sokcho, was alerted by text message that evening. It’s funny that the local police were slow to act but fast to prepare other police groups even on the other side of the country.
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11:53 am on December 9th, 2007 13
Thanks for correcting my geographical error, Kwandongbrian.
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2:33 pm on December 9th, 2007 14
[...] Korea On Alert After Fatal Attack on ROK Marines [...]
8:59 pm on December 9th, 2007 15
kwandongbrian: “Kang-hwa, not Kang-won”
So it is, thanks.
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1:18 pm on December 12th, 2007 16
[...] police, in my opinion they are really good at their job (I guess the poster thinks differently). http://rokdrop.com/2007/12/08/korea-on-alert-after-fatal-attack-on-rok-marines/ and second link: http://www.feedsyndicate.com/articles/7009392526 Big news here in [...]
8:50 pm on December 12th, 2007 17
[...] person suspected of attacking two ROK Marines and killing one them and then stealing their weapons has been caught in downtown Seoul. A letter he wrote was [...]
6:45 pm on December 22nd, 2007 18
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12:52 pm on April 5th, 2008 19
[...] Korean civilian that killed one ROK Marine and wounded another and then stole their weapons before being captured in a nation wide man hunt, has been sentenced to [...]
8:21 am on August 21st, 2008 20
[...] … http://www.okinawa.usmc.mil/Public%20Affairs%20Info/Archi... • Found on Yahoo! Search Korea On Alert After Fatal Attack on ROK Marines UPDATE #2: Here is a map that shows where the attack on the ROK Marines took place: … ROK Marine [...]