Georgia soldier at center of South Korean unrest

ATLANTA - A U.S. Army sergeant from Georgia who struck and killed two South Korean girls with a tank during a training mission has become the focus of increasingly violent anti-American protests in that country.<br> <br> Sgt. Mark Walker of Acworth is awaiting court-martial in connection with the deaths June 13 of two 14-year-old girls after they were struck while walking on a narrow road by a 57-ton armored vehicle Walker was driving.<br> <br> Guy Womack, a Houston lawyer who will represent Walker, said his client will be cleared at the court-martial, which he said is being held merely to show the South Koreans that the U.S. takes the incident seriously.<br> <br> &#34;(Walker&#39;s) vehicle was in the middle of a convoy,&#34; Womack said. &#34;The vehicle was as wide as the road. The two young girls were pedestrians, and, where they were standing in relation to (Walker), he couldn&#39;t see them.&#34;<br> <br> Womack said the vehicle was traveling only 5-7 mph at the time it hit the girls, identified by Army officials as Shim Mi-son and Shin Hyo-sun.<br> <br> The vehicle commander, Sgt. Fernando Nino, also has been charged with two counts of negligent homicide, according to American military officials in South Korea. Both have pleaded innocent.<br> <br> If convicted in the Nov. 21 court-martial, Walker could spend as much as six years in prison and be dishonorably discharged from the Army.<br> <br> Large street demonstrations have arisen around Seoul, the capital, since the accident, with protesters demanding that that the soldiers be tried in a South Korean court.<br> <br> Last month, South Korean prosecutors announced that faults in the driver&#39;s communications equipment prevented him from hearing orders to stop.<br> <br> Walker is not in confinement, but can&#39;t leave his base, Womack said, because of the protests and large signs with Walker&#39;s picture on them that have been put up around Seoul like wanted posters.<br> <br> Walker&#39;s supporters, who call the deaths a tragic accident and say the soldier is facing court-martial because of political pressure, are planning a Nov. 16 rally in Acworth to raise money for his legal bills.<br> <br> His sister, Lynn Samples, who lives in the Atlanta area, said she is concerned about Walker&#39;s safety.<br> <br> U.S. military officials, who have denied that political pressure spurred the decision to court-martial the two men, have issued several apologies to the families of the girls. The 2nd Infantry Division also helped to build a memorial near the site of the accident.<br> <br>

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