Seoul begins construction of war rehab center for Vietnam

SEOUL, Dec. 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea on Monday began constructing a
rehabilitation center in Vietnam that will help hundreds and thousands of
Vietnamese suffering from various ailments resulting from their exposure to
herbicides, such as dioxin, during the Vietnam War, Seoul's veterans affair
ministry said.

The construction of the 2-billion-won (US$1.5 million) facility, jointly funded
by South Korea's Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs and the Korea Disabled
Veterans Organization, is scheduled to be completed in October, the ministry said
in a press release.
The facility is being constructed on a 32,000 square-meter lot of land provided
by Vietnam's Quang Nam Province, according to the ministry.
"The center will include a residence area, hospital and other public facilities
that will be used by people and their offspring suffering from exposure to
defoliants used during the Vietnam War," it said.
More than 80,000 tons of herbicide, code named Agent Orange, is believed to have
been sprayed across southern Vietnam during the 1959-1975 war where the U.S.-led
anti-communist forces had to contend with thick forest cover while fighting
communist forces, known as Vietcong.
Over 30,000 Vietnamese in Guang Nam Province alone still suffer from various
maladies associated with exposure to powerful herbicide, the ministry said.
Upon completion, the rehabilitation center will house up to 64 live-in patients
while providing daily medical services to hundreds of others, it said.
The center will also offer various vocational and academic classes to help the
victims and their families make a better living.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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