A court in Seoul ruled that Nguyen Thi Thanh should be compensated for injuries she suffered during the 1968 mass murder of Vietnamese civilians.
The government of South Korea has appeal against court order to pay Compensation to a Vietnamese woman who was a victim of atrocities committed by South Korean soldiers during the Vietnam War in the 1960s.
The government appealed last month against a Seoul court ruling that ordered the state to pay 30 million won ($22,730) to 63-year-old Nguyen Thi Thanh, who was killed by South Korean troops in a mass killing of civilians. as compensation for the injuries sustained. In 1968.
An estimated 300,000 South Korean soldiers fought alongside US forces in Vietnam and marked the first legal acknowledgment of South Korea’s liability to compensate Thanh Atrocities committed by his army during the bloody conflict.
“We will cooperate fully with the trial proceedings under continuous consultation with relevant agencies to obtain an appellate decision based on sufficient facts,” the country’s defense ministry said in a statement to Reuters news agency.
Thanh was just eight years old when South Korean marines stormed his village of Phong Nhi in central Vietnam on February 12, 1968, killing more than 70 unarmed civilians, including five members of Thanh’s family.
He suffered a gunshot wound to his stomach during the stampede, which killed his mother and two siblings, causing him to spend almost a year in the hospital recovering.
The Seoul Central District Court, in its February 7 ruling on the matter, stated that the killing of Vietnamese villagers by the marines was a “clearly illegal act”.
According to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, the court said, “It is accepted that the family members of the plaintiff died on the spot and she was seriously injured…by the marines.” By bullet.”
South Korea’s Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup responded to the court’s ruling last month, saying his ministry was certain there were “Absolutely no massacre was done by our soldiers” during the Vietnam War.
He said the court’s decision to award compensation to the victim had hurt the honor of South Korean soldiers.
“We cannot agree with the verdict … We will hold discussions with relevant agencies to determine our next legal steps,” he added, foreshadowing an appeal announced on Thursday.
South Korean soldiers have been involved in several mass murders During the conflict in Vietnam, a study estimated that thousands of innocent Vietnamese may have been killed by the South Korean military.