March 18th, 2013 at 7:15 pm » Comments (11)

Despite all the recent high profile GI crime incidents lately, it is good to see that there are still US military servicemembers doing the right thing in Korea: Four Marines rescued a Korean from a burning building after a fire broke out March 8 in Pohang, Republic of Korea. Lance Cpls. James T. Simon, Jace A. Pido, Zachary W. Regan and Tyler J. Vermillion, all members of Company B, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, were on liberty in Pohang when the fire started. “There were several people panicking in the
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March 11th, 2013 at 1:40 pm » Comments (0)

Nine people have died and one is still missing after jumping into the freezing ocean water to escape a fire that broke out on a 20-ton fishing boat operating off the western port city of Gunsan on March 9, 2013, according to local maritime police. (Yonhap)

January 29th, 2013 at 7:20 am » Comments (23)

The article below tends to give creditability to the theory that the bar owner was more than happy to let the fire burn down her bar to make way for a hotel: An Itaewon brothel that was burned down by a U.S. soldier is being replaced by a seven-story hotel that the owner vows will “never, ever” be used for prostitution despite its location in the heart of a narrow street known as Hooker Hill. “My hotel is just a place for simple sleeping, and the location is excellent,” said
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January 26th, 2013 at 1:28 pm » Comments (4)

November 1st, 2012 at 1:01 pm » Comments (15)

August 6th, 2012 at 1:00 pm » Comments (1)

Via the Joong Ang Ilbo.

July 13th, 2012 at 4:37 am » Comments (8)

The Hooker Hill Fire Incident has always been a strange GI crime case that fortunately for the soldier involved he will not be seeing any jail time for: A soldier accused of burning down a “Hooker Hill” brothel last fall was allowed to walk free Friday after judges ruled he was guilty of gross negligence in starting the fire but had not done so intentionally. The Seoul Central District Court gave Pfc. Marcos Pedraza-Pascual a one-year suspended sentence, meaning he is essentially on probation. A prosecutor had recommended three years
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May 7th, 2012 at 11:17 pm » Comments (0)

This is the 2nd tragic fire in recent years in Busan:  Nine people were killed, including two foreigners, and 10 others injured when a fire raged through a karaoke facility in Busan, police said Sunday. The death toll could rise as two of the injured are in critical condition. The blaze broke out in one of the 26 rooms at the karaoke lounge on the third floor of a six-story building in the southeastern port city around 8:55 p.m. Saturday, causing smoke to spread quickly through the facility and customers
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April 25th, 2012 at 5:19 pm » Comments (2)

Here is an update on the Itaewon Hooker Hill fire: The owner of a Hooker Hill brothel testified Tuesday that she believes the U.S. soldier charged with burning down her business in November did so unintentionally and does not want him to be punished. Lee Seo-yoon told the Seoul Central District Court that she feels sorry for the soldier, Pfc. Marcos Pedraza-Pascual, because he is young and doesn’t have the money to pay for the damages to Tiger Tavern. The Itaewon-area establishment has been off-limits to U.S. troops since 2003
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April 2nd, 2012 at 7:43 am » Comments (5)

Via a reader tip comes news that 3 Wise Monkeys has an interesting posting up in regards to the fire that a USFK servicemember is accused of starting on Hooker Hill in Itaewon.  The article interviews a bar owner on the Hill that believes that the USFK servicemember was scammed and the building conveniently burned down to make way for a hotel: Kim then said that Lee never should have been operating the bar in the first place. “On September third everybody was told to move out of those bars,”
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