Vietnam Tops as Preferred International Marriage Partner for Korean Women
Concerns Raised Over Possible Loopholes in Nationality Acquisition
"Divorce from Korean Men Followed by Remarriage to Vietnamese Men"
Vietnamese men rank first as international marriage partners for Korean women, and this is widely interpreted as reflecting cases where Vietnamese women who married Korean men, acquired Korean nationality, and then divorced, subsequently marrying men from their home country, as shown in the statistics. [Photo by Pixabay]
Vietnamese men have been identified as the top international marriage partners for Korean women. Some analysts suggest this is because Vietnamese women who married Korean men and acquired Korean nationality often divorce and then remarry Vietnamese men from their home country.
According to the Immigration and Foreigners Policy Headquarters of the Ministry of Justice on the 29th, there were 13,905 marriage immigrants last month. Among them, 6,392 were Vietnamese nationals, accounting for half of the total.
By gender, Vietnamese marriage immigrants were ▲5,624 women ▲768 men. While women make up the majority, the number of men is also overwhelmingly high compared to other countries.
During the same period, the number of American men who entered international marriages was 359, less than half of Vietnamese men; Chinese men were 351, and Japanese men were 127. The situation was similar in January.
Statistics alone suggest that Korean women prefer Vietnamese men as international marriage partners the most. However, most Korean spouses of Vietnamese men are naturalized women originally from Vietnam.
This situation is also reflected in statistics. According to the Population Trends Survey by Statistics Korea, out of 586 marriage registrations last year, only 30 were first marriages, and 556 were remarriages. This means 95% of marriages to Vietnamese men were remarriages.
When Vietnamese women marry Korean men, acquire Korean nationality, then divorce and remarry Vietnamese men, these men also acquire Korean nationality.
This loophole is easily found in online communities and international marriage information-sharing cafes. Stories frequently appear about Vietnamese wives who obtained Korean nationality, had children, then ran away and divorced.
As a result, some voices are calling for measures to prevent the dark side of the international marriage market that exploits such loopholes.
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