Two U.S. soldiers have been accused of raping teenage girls in South Korea in separate incidents, prompting U.S. military officials to apologize Saturday as they tried to ease growing public anger.
Army Brig. Gen. David Conboy, who supervises the U.S. garrison in Seoul, issued a statement apologizing for “pain” caused by allegations that a U.S. soldier raped a girl in her rented room in Seoul on Sept. 17. That solider — a private in his early 20s — is being questioned by police but has not been arrested.
Another U.S. private has been arrested on suspicion of raping a teenage girl on Sept. 24 in a city north of Seoul.
The top U.S. diplomat for East Asia, Kurt Campbell, apologized Friday for what he called a “tragic and inexcusable rape that took place about a week ago.” It was not clear which of the two incidents he was referring to.
