"Testimony in Court on South Korean Military's Massacre of Civilians During the Vietnam War"

"South Korea Must Acknowledge the Truth of the Massacre"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Survivors and witnesses alleging civilian massacres by South Korean troops during the Vietnam War have appeared in a domestic court.

On the 9th, the Seoul Central District Court held a hearing for a damages lawsuit filed by Vietnamese national Nguyen Thi Than against the South Korean government, and conducted witness questioning of Nguyen Duc Choi, who was a militia member at the time. This is the first time that a Vietnamese witness has been questioned in a Korean court regarding allegations of civilian massacres.

Nguyen Duc Choi testified that he saw soldiers shooting at residents and throwing grenades in Phong Ni village, where he arrived after hearing radio communications.

When asked how he identified them as South Korean soldiers, he replied that he recognized them through their faces, eyes, and the conversations exchanged.

At a press conference held before the trial, Nguyen Thi Than and Nguyen Duc Choi expressed their foremost hope that the South Korean government would acknowledge the truth of the massacre.

Earlier, on February 12, 1968, Nguyen Thi Than filed a state compensation lawsuit against the South Korean government in April two years ago, claiming that over 70 civilians, including her family, were brutally massacred by South Korean soldiers.

At a hearing on November 16 last year, witness Ryu Jinseong, who was also deployed to the Vietnam War as a member of the Marine Corps, testified that he witnessed piles of bodies appearing to be civilians near Vietnamese houses.