hankyoreh

Nguyen Thi Thanh, the plaintiff in a compensation suit against the South Korean government for damages suffered at the hands of Korean troops during the Vietnam War, shares her reaction to her victory in a Korean court from her home in Vietnam on Feb. 7. (courtesy of the Civil Society Network for a Just Resolution to Vietnam War Issues)

On Tuesday, a South Korean court ruled that the state had a responsibility to compensate a woman who was injured and lost her family in a massacre of Vietnamese civilians by Korean troops in 1968. Did this verdict help to clear away some of the bitterness that had built up in her heart over the past 55 years?

“I was so happy and thrilled to hear about the victory,” 63-year-old Nguyen Thi Thanh said with a broad smile after a court ruling finding the South Korean government responsible for a massacre of civilians during the Vietnam War.

Nguyen lives in Phong Nhi, a village in the Dien Ban district of Vietnam’s Quang Nam Province. It’s also the hometown where her family members lost their lives.

Her legal representatives spoke to her via a video call during a press conference at the Seocho District Court Junction in Seoul following the judgment on Tuesday afternoon.

Speaking with reporters over her lawyer’s laptop video feed, Nguyen said, “I feel like the souls [of the massacre victims] were there with me offering their support.”

“I think those souls can rest now, which makes me so happy,” she added.

Explaining that she had been unable to sleep the night before while awaiting the ruling, she smiled brightly as she said, “I want to thank the judge, and also the legal team and people of South Korea who have been there with me through this process.”

Nguyen was 8 years old in February 1968 when she was shot in the side by soldiers with the South Korean Marines’ Blue Dragons Division. Five of her family members lost their lives at the time.

The participants in the lawsuit showed their appreciation to the court for its decision to right one of the wrongs of South Korea’s modern history, however belatedly.

“While there have been individual cases of criminal punishment for the main participants in massacres, I believe this is the first judgment to acknowledge the government’s liability for damages in connection with a civilian massacre during the Vietnam War,” said Lim Jae-sung, one of Nguyen’s attorneys.

“It’s great that the ruling was in our favor, but in the 20 years since the issue was first raised by the victims, there has not been any official acknowledgment of the truth or apology from South Korea,” he added.

Lee Seon-gyeong, another attorney on Nguyen’s team, explained, “During the trial, they noted that in similar historical cases, Japan had claimed that the government bore no responsibility, while Germany had consistently apologized.”

“They asked which path the Republic of Korea intends to take,” she continued.

“As the counsel in this case, we’ve had people attacking us because it’s an issue where the Republic of Korea is the party at fault, but with this ruling, I think we’ll be able to stand honorably before both Vietnam and Japan,” she said.

Fellow attorney Park Jin-seok said, “I think that with this ruling, the South Korean judiciary sent its first-ever official message of consolation and apology to victims of civilian massacres during the Vietnam War.”

By Jeong Hye-min, staff reporter

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