Minister of Justice Shim Sang-myong said Tuesday it was hard to talk about a revision of the Status of Forces Agreement with the USFK as long as it could not be said to be unfair in South Korea compared to other countries. Calls for a revision hve come following the acquittal of two soldiers involved in the accidental death of two teenagers in a traffic accident.

Speaking to reporters, Minister Shim said it is an international practice for countries signing SOFA with the US to approve primary jurisdiction to the US military.

As to the acquittals for the driver and commander of the US armored vehicle that killed the two, he said "In most cases, the US finds people not guilty of homicide by a vehicle, in clear accident casesm which reflects the culture of US Law that sees punishment of unintentional offenses as basically wrong.

The Ministry of Justice commented in a document, "References Related to SOFA Matters" that the current agreement is not considered an unfair agreement, citing Korea's SOFA with Kyrgyzstan, which gives the South Korean military primary jurisdiction over South Korean soldiers' criminal acts on and off duty. The country dispatched medical personnel and security forces there last February.

(Lee Jin-seok, island@chosun.com )