South Korean police arrested a U.S service member earlier this month on suspicion of brandishing a knife and scissors inside a pub in Seoul. (Gustavo Castillo/U.S. Air Force)
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — Police in South Korea arrested a U.S service member earlier this month on suspicion of brandishing a knife and scissors inside a pub in Seoul.
The unidentified troop’s charges — intimidation and obstruction of business — were referred to prosecutors on Tuesday, a Mapo Police detective told Stars and Stripes by phone that day.
The detective did not release the service member’s branch of service or his name. South Korean law enforcement agencies typically do not identify suspects unless charged with a serious crime, and officials regularly speak to the media on a customary condition of anonymity.
Police responded around 7:15 a.m. July 5 to a disturbance call saying a person had a deadly weapon inside a pub in Mapo District, the detective said. Mapo is a popular area of Seoul known for its numerous bars and nightclubs.
The service member, who is stationed at Camp Casey, a U.S. Army outpost 13 miles south of the Demilitarized Zone that separates North Korea from South Korea, entered the pub alone and went inside the kitchen, where he picked up a knife and scissors, according to the detective.
He proceeded to the dining area and made a “stabbing motion with his hands, but did not stab himself,” the detective said.
The pub’s patrons fled outside but the service member did not explicitly threaten them, according to the detective.
The service member was arrested without incident and taken to Mapo Police Station, where he was later picked up by U.S. military police, the detective said. No injuries were reported.
The service member returned to the police station with his attorney for questioning a few days later and said he did not remember the incident because he was “dead drunk” on the night prior, the detective said.
The service member is not attached to the 2nd Infantry Division, Army spokeswoman Maj. Mayra Nañez, said by phone Tuesday.
Roughly 28,500 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea, most of them at Humphreys, about 40 miles south of Seoul.
