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American convicted of 1997 ‘Itaewon murder’ appeals

February 1, 2016
Arthur Patterson, the suspect of a 1997 murder in Itaewon, arrives at Incheon International Airport, Wednesday, after he had been extradited to Korea 16 years after he fled to the U.S. (Yonhap)

Arthur Patterson, the suspect of a 1997 murder in Itaewon, was indicted for murder in December 2011 and extradited to Korea in September 2015. (Yonhap)

By The Korea Times Seoul staff

A U.S. citizen who received a 20-year jail term last week for murdering a Korean student back in 1997 has filed an appeal with a higher court.

Arthur Patterson, who was convicted of stabbing then-college student Cho Joong-pil several times at a Burger King restaurant in Itaewon, Seoul, appealed to Seoul High Court on Monday.

Last week, Seoul Central District Court sentenced Patterson, 19 years after the killing.

Patterson, 36, denies that he committed the crime, and continues to point Korean American Edward Lee as the killer. Lee was with Patterson at the time of the murder.

In 1998, a local court found Lee guilty of the murder and sentenced him to life in prison. But the Supreme Court acquitted him the following year, citing lack of evidence.

Patterson was indicted for murder in December 2011 and extradited to Korea in September 2015.