Itaewon Murder Suspect Extradited to South Korea after 16 Years

Patterson, who escaped to the U.S., will stand trial in a South Korean court of law.

American Arthur John Patterson, 36, a suspect in the "Itaewon murder" will be extradited to South Korea after sixteen years. Thus Patterson will stand trial for murder in a South Korean court of law.

The Ministry of Justice announced on September 22 that Patterson was scheduled to be extradited and would arrive at Incheon International Airport in the early hours of September 23. Patterson is suspected of killing the college student Jo (22 at the time of the murder) in the bathroom of a fast food restaurant in Itaewon, Seoul in April 1997.

At the time of the murder, the prosecutors indicted Korean-American Edward Lee, 36, who was with Patterson in the bathroom, believing Lee to be the sole murderer and charged Patterson for possessing a weapon. But the Supreme Court reversed and remanded the case due to lack of evidence, and later Lee was acquitted in the final judgment. Soon after, another investigation was launched with Patterson as the prime suspect, but Patterson fled to the U.S. in August 1999.

Patterson (right), reenacting a crime scene during an on-site verification in April 1997 | Kyunghyang Shinmun file photo

Arthur Patterson accused of murdering a South Korean college student in 1997 is extradited to South Korea at Incheon airport on Sept. 23, 2015. | Lee Jun heon

The justice ministry confirmed Patterson's whereabouts in 2009 and sought to have him extradited as a criminal from the U.S. court in October 2012. However, Patterson took advantage of the writ for habeas corpus to avoid being sent back to South Korea. Patterson's habeas corpus petition was denied in an appellate trial in a U.S. court, but he still had time to make another appeal.

However, the South Korean justice ministry did not miss a chance that occurred when Patterson made a crucial mistake. In the U.S., once a person has petitioned for a writ for habeas corpus, he must also file for the suspension of the execution of the extradition. This has to be extended within two months after each court ruling. But Patterson failed to request a suspension of execution after the appellate trial. The justice ministry grabbed the opportunity and was able to receive a court decision allowing the extradition of Patterson on the morning of September 19 (hereon Korean time). The justice ministry sent an employee from the International Criminal Affairs Division to the U.S., received final permission from the U.S. Secretary of State and took Patterson into custody.

The "Itaewon Murder" was also made into a movie

A Korean college student was murdered inside the restroom of a hamburger place.

Two Americans accused each other of the murder, and the case remained a mystery.

At around 10 p.m. on April 3, 1997, a college student Jo Jung-pil was discovered dead in the bathroom of a hamburger joint in Itaewon, Seoul. Jo was stabbed in nine places including his neck and chest. Arthur John Patterson, the son of a U.S. Forces staff and Korean-American Edward Lee, who were at the scene of the crime at the time, each claimed the other was the culprit. Prosecutors believed Lee to be the murderer and indicted him, but Lee was acquitted by the Supreme Court in 1998 and released. That same year, when the prosecutors failed to renew a travel ban on Patterson, he fled to the U.S. In 2009, The Itaewon Murder, a film portraying this incident was released. The prosecutors were condemned for their negligence in managing suspects and public opinion boiled with the demand for another investigation. Prosecutors launched another investigation and in December 2011 cited Patterson as the suspect and indicted him, as he still remained in the States. This happened three months before the statute of limitations (15 years) expired.