In a landmark case involving U.S. military personnel in South Korea, a soldier from Minnesota was sentenced to three years in prison Thursday for killing a woman in a drunken-driving accident and fleeing the scene.

Prosecutors had asked that Sgt. Jerry Onken, 33, of Onamia, be sentenced to five years for causing the accident, which killed a young Korean woman and injured three people. The charge usually carries a sentence of from five years to life, but Judge Kim Chul-hyun said he took into account Onken's remorse and his otherwise distinguished 13-year career in the military.

It was the first time a U.S. soldier charged with an off-duty crime had been handed over to local authorities for prosecution under a 2001 agreement with South Korea.

"It could have been much worse," Onken's father, Ron Onken, said Thursday. Because of the time difference between South Korea and Minnesota, he and his wife, Karen, learned of their son's fate Wednesday night.

Sgt. Jerry Onken

Lee Jin-man

Associated Press

"I can honestly say we were somewhat relieved," Ron Onken said.

"We knew there had to be consequences, and we knew that there you could get life for it," the father said. "When you're sitting back here in Minnesota not knowing what's going on, it's hard.

"But we're handling it now, and so is his wife."

Sgt. Onken's wife, Leigh, and their 6-year-old daughter, Haley, live at Fort Drum near Carthage, N.Y.

Onken, who is assigned to an air-defense artillery battalion south of Seoul, admitted to South Korean authorities that he drank three bottles of beer and two shots of whiskey about four hours before the accident on Nov. 28. He also admitted leaving the scene in panic.

The Stars and Stripes newspaper reported in its Pacific edition Thursday that during the sentencing hearing, the father of the 22-year-old woman who was killed shouted in Korean from the gallery, "You fled the scene when my daughter was dying. And you call yourself a soldier?"

Onken, a Gulf War veteran who also served in Afghanistan and Bosnia, did not turn or appear to respond.

The victim's father was admonished by the judge but allowed to speak later. He asked the court to impose a life sentence, saying he could have forgiven Onken if he had stopped to help his daughter and the others. But because he left the scene, "your behavior was lower than that of dogs."

Onken was expressionless as the sentence was announced, the Associated Press reported. "I'd just like to say I'm truly sorry for the crimes I have committed," he told the court.

Little communication

An Army spokesman called Onken's parents from South Korea immediately after the sentencing.

"We still have not heard anything from Jerry himself since he was turned over to the South Koreans," Ron Onken said. "He hasn't been allowed phone calls in or out since he was turned over on December 30th. His lawyer said that Onken wrote letters and that his wife got one a week ago written on [December] 30th. She wrote to him, but her letter was returned.

"We've sent letters and none of ours was returned, so we're hoping they get to him."

He said that he told his son "just to hang in there" and that his family would stand by him.

"He had told us prior to being turned over how sorry he was about the whole thing. You may not like what happened, but you have to stand by him. He's been an adult a long time, and as far as we've known he never had any DWI or anything. According to the Army, he had no prior offenses."

Onken will be reduced in rank but will remain in the Army, and his three-year sentence could be reduced on appeal, his father said.

"They've told us that sometimes the sentence will be reduced on an appeal in traffic cases like this," Ron Onken said. "But we feel much better today than we did yesterday. We know we can get through it, and he can, too."

The U.S. military still has jurisdiction over troops who commit crimes while on duty, but the 2001 agreement gives South Korea primary jurisdiction over any of the 37,000 GIs stationed in the country who are accused of crimes while off duty.

The United States has maintained a substantial military presence in South Korea since the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended in an armistice.

The conduct of those soldiers occasionally has strained relations, and last year huge protests followed the acquittal of two American soldiers charged with negligent homicide after their armored vehicle struck and killed two South Korean girls. The soldiers were on a training mission, so they were tried in U.S. military courts.

Chuck Haga is at

>crhaga@startribune.com.