Two US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the soldier had been due to face disciplinary action by the US military. Reuters was not immediately able to ascertain whether the disciplinary action was linked to his conviction over damaging the police vehicle.
The Seoul court said on Sep 25 last year King punched a man in the face at a club several times but the case was settled. Two weeks later, on Oct 8, police officers responded to a report of another altercation involving King, and tried to question him.
He continued with his “aggressive behaviour” without answering questions from police, according to the court document. Police placed him in the backseat of their patrol car where he shouted expletives and insults against Koreans, the Korean army, and the Korean police, the ruling said.
During his tirade, he kicked the vehicle’s door several times, causing about 584,000 won in damages, the ruling said.
The court said the defendant had admitted to the charges, had no previous criminal record, and paid 1 million won to fix the vehicle, citing reasons in favour of him in the sentencing.