American accused of murder returns to face trial in Korea after 16 years 16년 만

An American accused of a murdering a Korean student 18 years ago has returned to Korea to stand trial. The Itaewon Murder Case， or the Burger King murder as it is known， received huge public attention. Kwon Jang－Ho has more. Dressed in white and looking visibly tired， Arthur Patterson returned to Korea for the first time in 16 years on Wednesday， to again face trial for the murder of a Korean university student 18 years ago. The murder occurred on April 3rd 1997， in the bathroom of a Burger King in Seoul. The victim was stabbed nine times， with a pocket knife that Patterson had been carrying. Two suspects Patterson， and his friend， Edward Lee， were present at the scene， but both claim the other had carried out the stabbing. The Burger King was located in Itaewon， an area in Seoul close to an American military base and popular with foreigners. Lee was found guilty of the murder initially， but he was later fully acquitted by the Supreme Court due to a lack of evidence. Patterson was to be investigated further， but a prosecutor mistakenly failed to renew his travel ban， and he was able to return to the U.S. The case went cold for ten years， until a film in 2009 and a series of television programs brought the case to light again， refueling public interest and anger. By December that year the case was reopened， and an extradition request was made to the U.S. After protracted legal battles regarding his extradition， he finally stepped back on Korean soil in the early hours of Wednesday morning. Although he showed sympathy for the victim′s family， he maintains his innocence. ″It′s not right that they have to keep going through this pain over and over and over， but it′s not right that I′m here either. I′m still shocked that I′m even here.″ A major step has been taken in bringing this case forward， but after such a long time， it remains to be seen whether answers to the questions will be found. Kwon Jang－Ho， Arirang News.