Police said Sunday they are launching a month-long crackdown on illegal international marriage brokers in the country following the killing here of a Vietnamese woman by her mentally-ill South Korean husband.
The nationwide clampdown will start on Monday, mainly targeting unregistered matchmaking firms and brokers who provide foreign woman seeking
to marry South Koreans with falsified marriage and medical records, according to the National Policy Agency.
Earlier this month, a 20-year-old Vietnamese woman was killed by her 47-year-old husband, only a week after she arrived in South Korea, prompting
the South Korean government to seek ways to better protect foreign wives.
The man was found to have been treated 57 times for mental illness since 2005. After committing the heinous act, he turned himself into authorities, confessing that he heard a "ghost's voice" telling him to kill the woman.
Police are investigating whether the matchmaking agency that brokered their meeting provided the Vietnamese woman with adequate information on the man.
More than 40,000 Vietnamese women have immigrated to South Korea through marriage. Most of their weddings were arranged by private brokers.
Meanwhile, the parents of the woman met with a group of South Korean delegates attending the funeral of their daughter in her hometown, and asked them to punish the accused fairly. The 10-strong delegation was led by Rep. Han Sun-kyo of the ruling Grand National Party.
"This case shocked the South Korean government, the National Assembly and the entire nation. We will spare no efforts to prevent the recurrence of such an incident," Han told the parents.