[1] A U.S. military convoy from the 2nd Infantry Division of Eighth United States Army set out to undertake a training exercise at a range approximately 20 kilometers (12 mi) north of metropolitan Seoul.

[citation needed] Citing concerns about setting a precedent in terms of allowing civilian proceedings against U.S. military personnel, then Judge Advocate of the USFK, Colonel Kent Myers, said the U.S. command would not do so, noting that the U.S. Army had waived jurisdiction only once before in a case in which the act committed was intentional and not accidental.

In a statement issued by the USFK, Myers noted that Walker and Nino were clearly performing assigned duties in an official capacity and were therefore subject to the UCMJ under the U.S.-ROK SOFA.

Families of the victims were invited to attend and, to protect their privacy, were offered the use of a separate CCTV-equipped room staffed with an interpreter and military lawyer to explain the processes involved.

[7] Full apologies were issued by American civilian and military officials at various levels of authority immediately after the incident and repeated throughout the course of the legal proceedings.

[8] The same report suggested that presidential elections in South Korea, set to take place that same December, may have focused attention on the issue as a larger referendum on the U.S.-ROK relationship, and thus exacerbated tensions.

In one incident in December 2002, an unarmed U.S. Army officer, Lieutenant Colonel Steven A. Boylan, was attacked by three South Korean men wielding a knife outside the Garrison.

Reports indicated that one factor that may have contributed to the deaths of Shim Mi-son and Shin Hyo-sun, was the width and design of the roads in the area near their home village.

[13] The First Moranbong Middle School in Pyongyang, North Korea, declared Shin and Shim to be honorary students in 2003 as part of its Anti-American propaganda.