Binh Tai Massacre

Deaths 29-168: 533 
Location Binh Tai village, South Vietnam
Died Unknown
Date October 9, 1966; 55 years ago (1966-10-09)
Criminal penalty Unknown

Introduction

The Bình Tai Massacre was a massacre allegedly perpetrated by South Korean Forces on 9 October 1966 of 29-168 citizens in Binh Tai village of Bình Định Province in South Vietnam.


Investigation

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.: 534  Colonel Kim Ki-tae, former commander of the Seventh Company, 2nd Marine Division, testified in The Hankyoreh that on 9 October 1966 about the event.: 529  Colonel Ki-Tae 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. South Korean troops set fire to the Binh Tai 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 Major (Soryeong) and a ROK Marine Artillery Jungsa (First Sergeant) three days before by sniper fire.: 530  The testimony by Kim Ki-Tae had prompted other Korean veterans to testify about mass-killings. The massacre was discussed by the People's Tribunal on War Crimes by South Korean Troops during the Vietnam War in 2018.