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Members of MINBYUN—Lawyers for a Democratic Society call for South Korea to acknowledge civilian massacres perpetrated by Korean soldiers during the Vietnam War and to pay the victims compensation during a press conference in front of the Seoul Central District Court on Apr. 21. (Yonhap News)

The South Korean government is facing the first state compensation lawsuit filed by a victim of civilian massacres perpetrated by South Korean troops during the Vietnam War. On Apr. 21, a task force organized by MINBYUN—Lawyers for a Democratic Society to investigate the massacres filed a lawsuit with the Seoul Central District Court on behalf of a 60-year-old massacre survivor named Nguyen Thi Thanh, asking the South Korean government to pay Nguyen 30 million won (US$24,261) in damages.

During a press conference held in front of the court by MINBYUN on Tuesday, Nguyen made the following remarks via a video call. “The only way to ease the pain of the victims is for the South Korean government to acknowledge its responsibility for the civilian massacres. I hope that the reputations of many victims, including my own reputation, will be restored.”

In February 1968, Nguyen, then eight years old, was seriously injured when she suffered a gunshot wound on her left side. She had been shot by troops from the 1st Company of the 1st Battalion of South Korea’s 2nd Marine Division, also known as the Blue Dragons, near her home in the village of Phong Nhi, in Dien Ban Township, Dien An District, Quang Nam Province. While doctors were able to save Nguyen’s life, her injury continues to affect her today. Five members of Nguyen’s family were killed in the massacre, and her 14-year-old brother was seriously injured.

In April 2018, Nguyen was one of the plaintiffs in a citizens’ tribunal aimed at uncovering the truth about the civilian massacres during the Vietnam War. The non-binding tribunal was organized by MINBYUN and the Korea-Vietnam Peace Foundation. The judges in the tribunal, led by former Supreme Court Justice Kim Young-ran, ordered the South Korean government to compensate the plaintiffs and give them an official apology “so as to restore their dignity and their reputation.”

One year later, Nguyen and 102 other victims submitted a petition to the Blue House asking for it to investigate the incidents in question. But the official position of South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense, representing the government, is that the military’s records don’t contain any information about civilian massacres by South Korean soldiers stationed in Vietnam.

S. Korean troops reportedly massacred some 9,000 civilians in 80 sites during Vietnam War

But there is an official record of the massacre in Phong Nhi that Nguyen has recounted — namely, an audit report by the US military, which states that 69 people were killed in the incident. South Korean troops massacred an estimated 9,000 civilians in 80 sites during the Vietnam War.

During the upcoming trial, the South Korean government and Nguyen are expected to debate whether it was actually South Korean troops that carried out the massacre. Another contentious point is whether a Vietnamese citizen has the right to sue the South Korean government for state compensation, as a South Korean citizen can. And considering that lawsuits for state compensation are supposed to be filed within five years of the date when the illegal action occurred, the statute of limitations is also likely to come up for debate: the Vietnam War ended in 1975, 45 years ago.

By Joh Yun-yeong, staff reporter

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]