Seoul court holds South Korea responsible for Vietnam War massacre, orders it to pay compensation

In a landmark judgement, a court in Seoul ruled on Tuesday that South Korea was responsiblefor the Vietnam War massacre. The court held the South Korean government accountable for themassacre committed by its soldiers and also ordered them to pay compensation.

The Vietnam War was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia, which started in 1955 and ended with the fall of Saigon on April 30, 1975. Reports and records of the casualties of the Vietnam War vary widely, but it is said that around 2,000,000 civilians on both sides lost their lives.

South Korea sent its troops to support America, which had entered the Vietnam War in an attempt to prevent the spread of communism. In a report by The New York Times, it was mentioned that South Korea sent 320,000 troops to Vietnam. It was the largest foreign contingent fighting alongside American forces in the war.

Although, Seoul denies allegations,rumours have persisted that South Korean marines were accused of killing around 70 civilians during a raid on February 12, 1968.

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The case was brought to court in Seoul by a Vietnamese woman who survived the massacre. Nguyen Thi Thanh, who was injured in the raid and lost her family, including her mother, filed a lawsuit in 2020. Thanh, who is now 62 years old, sought compensation from the South Korean government.

Seoul's Central District Court has ruled that Thanh should be compensated with $23,800, plus interest, for the mass killings in the town of Phong Nhi in Vietnam's central Quang Nam province.

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