S. Korea defence chief denies Vietnam War massacres

South Korea’s top military official on Friday insisted that the country’s soldiers didn’t commit any massacres during the Vietnam War and indicated that the government will appeal a ruling that ordered compensation for a Vietnamese woman who lost several relatives to a shooting rampage blamed on South Korean marines in 1968.

When asked about last week’s ruling by the Seoul Central District Court, South Korean Defence Minister Lee Jong-Sup told a parliamentary committee that his ministry is certain there were absolutely no massacres committed by their troop during the Vietnam War.

The court ordered the government to pay 30 million won to 62-year-old Nguyen Thi Thanh, who survived a gunshot wound but lost five family members – including her mother and two siblings – after South Korean marines swept through her village of Phong Nhi, central Vietnam, on Feb. 12, 1968.