South Korean court orders compensation for Vietnam War atrocities

SEOUL Reuters - A South Korean court ordered the government to compensate a Vietnamese victim of atrocities during the Vietnam War in the 1970s, when around 300,000 South Korean troops fought alongside U.S. forces.

The ruling was the first legal acknowledgment of South Korea's liability for atrocities during the war and could potentially pave the way for other victims to seek compensation.

The Seoul Central District Court ordered the government to provide around 30 million won $23,800 in compensation and additional funds to Nguyen Thi Thanh, a survivor of killings of civilians by South Korean troops.

Nguyen, 63, filed a suit against the South Korean government in 2020, seeking about 30 million won in compensation, saying she lost her family members and suffered wounds herself when South Korean marines killed about 70 civilians in her hometown in Vietnam's central province of Quang Nam in 1968.

The verdict said that the soldiers forced the plaintiffs family to come out of their house, threatening with live ammunition and guns, before shooting them, according to Yonhap news agency.

It is acknowledged that the plaintiff's family died at the scene and the plaintiff and others suffered serious injuries. A court official said the full verdict was not immediately available for release, but a full verdict was not immediately available.

Nguyen welcomed the decision and said it would be a comfort for the souls who have fallen victim to the incident in a video call from Vietnam arranged by her attorneys after the ruling. Seoul s defence ministry did not immediately make a statement. The foreign ministry said the two countries were in close consultations over pending issues for the future-oriented advancement of diplomatic ties, which were formally established in 1992.

It said that Korea and Vietnam have achieved unprecedented development of relations over the past 30 years based on the principle of Let s leave the past unfortunate events behind and move toward the future.

Hanoi's foreign ministry did not respond immediately to a request for comment.