The Bình mai Massacre was a massacre allegedly perpetrated by South Korean forces on 9 October 1966 of 29–168 civilians in Bình Tai village of Bình Định Province in South Vietnam.

Bình Tai massacre
Quảng Ngãi Province
LocationBình Tai village, South Vietnam
DateOctober 9, 1966; 58 years ago (1966-10-09)
TargetBình Tai villagers
Attack type
Massacre
Deaths29–168[1][2]
PerpetratorsSouth Korean Forces

Investigation

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The South Korean newspaper, The Hankyoreh, investigated war crimes in Vietnam and this massacre had first came to light from a testimony by an officer whom had overseen the killing.[2]: 534 [3][1] Colonel Kim Ki-tae, former commander of the Seventh Company, 2nd Marine Division, testified in The Hankyoreh on 9 October 1966 about the event.[2]: 529  Colonel Kim had reported he oversaw the murder of 29 men who were 'probably just farmers' alongside other civilians, and confirmed by the Hankyoreh's onsite investigation of events.[1][4] South Korean troops set fire to the villagers' homes and shot the villagers who fled the burning buildings. The raid had been ordered as a punitive action by the Division Headquarters as retaliation for the killing of a ROKA Infantry Soryeong (Major) and a ROK Marine Artillery Jungsa (First Sergeant) three days before by sniper fire.[2]: 530  The testimony by Colonel Kim had prompted other Korean veterans to testify about mass-killings.[1] The massacre was discussed by the People's Tribunal on War Crimes by South Korean Troops during the Vietnam War in 2018.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "People's Tribunal on War Crimes Committed by South Korean Troops during the Vietnam War | The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus". apjjf.org. Retrieved 2020-09-14.
  2. ^ a b c d Armstrong, Charles (2001). Critical Asian Studies, Volume 33, Issue 4: America's Korea, Korea's Vietnam. Routledge. p. 533. 168
  3. ^ Vụ thảm sát Diên Niên – Phước Bình + Tưởng niệm 45 năm vụ thảm sát Diên Niên – Phước Bình Archived 2014-01-06 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Hwang Sang-cheol (11 May 2000). "A retired colonel, Kim Ki-tae, tells of systematic killings of Vietnamese civilians by Korean soldiers during the Vietnam War". The Hankyoreh. Retrieved 22 September 2020.