South Korean court rules government must compensate victims of massacre in Vietnam
Báo Tuổi Trẻ•17/01/2025
The Seoul Court of Appeals upheld the ruling ordering the South Korean government to pay 30 million won in compensation for the massacre in Vietnam, plus additional costs incurred due to delays, to Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh (appearing on a computer screen) makes a video call with a group of supporters outside the Seoul Central District Court on January 17 - Photo: YONHAP
On January 17, an appeals court in Seoul (South Korea) upheld the lower court's ruling that the Korean government must pay 30 million won in compensation to Ms. Nguyen Thi Thanh. Ms. Thanh is the plaintiff in a lawsuit related to the 1968 massacre in Phong Nhi village, Dien An ward, Dien Ban town, Quang Nam province . According to the Korea Times , Ms. Thanh (64 years old) asked the Korean government to take responsibility because she lost relatives in the massacre carried out by the Korean army in 1968, which killed 70 people in Phong Nhi village. In 2023, the Seoul Court of First Instance, South Korea, issued a ruling requiring the government to compensate Ms. Thanh more than 30 million won. This court acknowledged that on February 12, 1968, soldiers of the 1st Company, 2nd Marine Brigade of the Korean army killed more than 70 civilians in Phong Nhi village, including Ms. Thanh's relatives. On January 17, 2024, the Seoul Central District Court of Appeal upheld the lower court's ruling, ordering the Korean government to pay 30 million won and corresponding delay damages to Ms. Thanh. The Seoul court's ruling marked the first time a Korean court acknowledged the state's responsibility to compensate victims who died in massacres by the Korean military against Vietnamese civilians during the war. Following the appeals court's ruling, Ms. Thanh expressed her appreciation and requested attention to other victims in similar lawsuits.
Comment (0)