US soldier sentenced for Korean assault

The US military presence angers many in South Korea

A United States military court near Seoul has found an American soldier guilty of sexually assaulting a South Korean serviceman.

US army sergeant Leng Sok was accused of carrying out the assault last year at a military base in at Dongducheon, north of the capital Seoul.

Mr Sok, who is of Thai descent, has been sentenced to 30 years in jail, according to the Associated Press news agency. His rank was also reduced to that of private.

Two other American soldiers are also suspected of involvement in the assault, and have yet to face trial. All three soldiers and the victim are male.

Public anger has been growing in South Korea over alleged crimes committed by US military personnel.

Late last year a wave of protests began after two US soldiers were acquitted of negligence after they killed two South Korean girls in a driving accident.

'Aggravated assault'

The US Eighth Army said Leng Sok was found guilty of all five charges of "aggravated assault, indecent acts, sodomy, submission of a false official statement and conspiracy".

Anti-US sentiment has been running high in Seoul

The victim, one of more than 4,000 South Koreans serving with the US military, was attacked in March 2002.

The incident is likely to fuel anti-US sentiment in the country, which has been aggravated by Washington's hardline policy towards the North Korean nuclear crisis.

The acquittals of the two US servicemen last year, in a US military tribunal, led thousands of demonstrators to demand their retrial in a South Korean court.

The protesters were also campaigning for a revision to a treaty governing the US soldiers stationed in South Korea, which gives the US jurisdiction over their forces.

The majority of South Koreans want less or no US troops in their country, a survey showed on Thursday.

The poll - conducted by the JoongAng Ilbo, a major independent newspaper in Seoul - found that 57% of those surveyed favoured either a complete withdrawal or a reduction in the number of US troops in the country.

American soldiers have been stationed in South Korea for half a century, ever since they fought against North Korean and Chinese forces during the 1950-53 Korean War.