Murder of Yun Geum-i

On October 28, 1992, Yun Geum-i, a 26-year-old South Korean woman working as a sex worker in the kijichon (camptown) district of Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province, was sexually assaulted and killed. She was murdered by U.S. Army Private Kenneth Lee Markle III, a medic serving in the 2nd Infantry Division stationed at Camp Casey. Her body was discovered by her landlord; the scene included a soda bottle inserted into her body and an umbrella inserted into her rectum. The crime scene had been covered in laundry detergent, which Markle reportedly believed would act like lye to destroy forensic evidence.

The case was notable for being the first time a U.S. serviceman was turned over to South Korean courts to face trial for a crime committed against a Korean sex worker. The brutality of the killing drew intense public attention and outrage in South Korea, fueling a surge in anti-American sentiment and renewed criticism of the burden that the U.S. military presence placed on Korean communities near military bases. In the aftermath, demonstrations and riots occurred outside both Camp Casey and Camp Hovey.

The killing catalyzed organized advocacy: forty-six Korean non-governmental organizations formed an umbrella group called the National Campaign for the Eradication of Crime by U.S. Troops in Korea. This organization compiled data showing that American soldiers stationed in Korea had committed 39,452 criminal offenses between 1967 and 1998, including 850 offenses in 1992 alone, the year of Yun's murder. The case also intensified calls to review the U.S.–South Korea Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which governed the legal treatment of American military personnel accused of crimes in Korea.

Markle was held at an American military confinement facility during his trial and subsequent appeals. In April 1993, a South Korean court sentenced him to life in prison. In August 1993, the U.S. government paid the victim's family approximately US$72,000 in compensation. That December, an appeals court upheld the conviction but reduced the sentence to 15 years, citing the U.S. government's compensation payment as a mitigating factor. Markle was transferred to Cheonan prison to serve his sentence beginning May 17, 1994. In 1995, he was fined 2 million won (about US$2,000) for causing a disturbance while incarcerated. Seven applications for parole were rejected before he was ultimately released on parole on August 14, 2006, and deported to the United States. After his return to the U.S., Markle was arrested for lesser offenses, including burglary, in Maryland. He died on February 14, 2023.