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

An American citizen accused of a murdering a Korean student 18 years ago has returned to Korea to stand trial. He denies the killing. Kwon Jang－Ho has more. Dressed in white and looking visibly tired， Arthur Patterson returned to Korea after 16 years on Wednesday， to face trial for the murder of a Korean university student. The murder occurred on April 3rd 1997， in the bathroom of a Burger King outlet in Itaewon. The victim was stabbed nine times， with a pocket knife Patterson had been carrying. Two suspects Patterson， and his friend， Edward Lee， were at the scene， both claiming the other had carried out the stabbing. Lee was initially found guilty of the murder but was later acquitted by the Supreme Court， citing a lack of evidence. Patterson was to be investigated further， but a prosecutor mistakenly failed to renew his over－seas travel ban， allowing him to return to the U.S. Patterson was born to a Korea mother， and his father was an civilian worker for the U.S. military. The case sparked a wave hostile public sentiment towards American forces in Korea. The case went cold for ten years， until a film in 2009 reignited public interest and anger over the case. After prosecutors reopened the case， Patterson was indicted in 2011. Since then he continually fought extradition...and now having lost that battle in May， finds himself back on Korean soil. Although he has shown 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 for this case， but after such a long time， it remains open as to whether answers to his question of guilt will be found. Kwon Jang－Ho， Arirang News.