hankyoreh

South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup speaks before the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee on Feb. 17. (Yonhap)

South Korean Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-sup said Friday that he did not agree with a recent court ruling acknowledging a massacre of civilians by South Korean troops in the Vietnam War.

“Based on what the Ministry of National Defense has confirmed, there were absolutely no massacres by our troops,” he asserted.

His remarks rejected the conclusion of a court that issued a ruling on Feb. 7 recognizing that South Korean troops in Vietnam committed a massacre of civilians and holding the South Korean government responsible for compensation.

Lee’s remarks came during an appearance before a plenary session of the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee on Friday. He had been asked by Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Hu-duk for his opinion on the court ruling acknowledging that South Korean troops in Vietnam were responsible for a civilian massacre.

“The situation at the time was highly complex,” Lee replied, adding that there had been “a great many situations where people were dressed as South Korean troops but actually were not.”

“An investigation by the US military also came to the conclusion that there had been no massacres of civilians by South Korean troops,” he said.

He went on to say that there had been “various examinations of the evidence and witnesses during the trial process, and from what we have ascertained, there were no massacres of civilians.”

“At the time, the South Korean military commander in Vietnam, Chae Myung-shin, stressed first and foremost that [South Korean troops] must not massacre civilians,” he said.

“We are considering this aspect very seriously, while also thinking of the reputations of the soldiers who were sent to Vietnam,” he added.

On Feb. 7, the Seoul Central District Court ruled for the plaintiff in a case filed by Vietnamese victim Nguyễn Thị Thanh against the Republic of Korea claiming compensation. As an 8-year-old in February 1968, Nguyễn lost numerous family members and was severely wounded in a massacre of around 70 civilians by South Korean troops in the village of Phong Nhị in Vietnam’s Quảng Nam Province.

With its ruling, the court ordered the Republic of Korea to pay slightly over 30 million won to the plaintiff, along with compensation for delays.

After examining various pieces of evidence, including testimony from soldiers who had fought in Vietnam and members of local militias, the court recognized the veracity of most of Nguyễn’s claims, concluding the actions in question “constituted a clearly illegal act.”

After the ruling, the South Korean Ministry of National Defense said it planned to “hold discussions with the Ministry of Justice before making a decision on whether to appeal.”

The issue of civilian massacres by South Korean troops in the Vietnam War first came to widespread attention with a report by the Hankyoreh 21 news magazine in early 1999. As more concrete facts have continued to come to light, civil society has called for acknowledgment and compensation — which the South Korean government has steadfastly refused to provide.

Since Nguyễn first filed her case in 2020, the government has consistently denied any responsibility, citing a lack of evidence or claiming that tactics were legitimate in light of the guerrilla warfare that was happening at the time.

By Lee Jae-hoon, staff reporter

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