By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter

A court rejected a Vietnamese woman's request Monday for the custody of her biological children who she had with a Korean husband.

The Seoul Family Court cited the ``children's lack of awareness'' of her as their mother as its primary reasoning. The 26-year-old married to a divorced Korean man in his 50s in August 2003 and gave birth to two daughters in the following two years.

But, immediately after the birth of the two children, they were sent to the husband's former Korean wife.

The Korean woman, now recognized by the children as their mother, has nurtured them since then.

The reason the man sent the children to live with his former wife has not yet been confirmed, with those involved in the case unavailable for comment. The court also refused to elaborate, saying, ``It was not the point of the case.''

Just days after the immigrant wife delivered the second child, the husband abruptly divorced her and began to live with his former Korean wife. The Vietnamese woman filed a suit in a bid to secure custody of the children, which is usually granted to the father for financial reasons.

The biological mother reportedly claimed during court proceedings that the Korean used her as a ``surrogate mother,'' which is strictly banned in South Korea. It remains uncertain whether or not the Korean woman is sterile.

The Vietnamese woman now lives in a rundown house in Seoul, and is said to be barely surviving by working at a sewing factory. Although failing to gain custody, the court granted her visitation rights with the children one day per week in order to guarantee her basic right as biological mother.

``During the proceedings, we gave her a chance to meet the babies. But they did not recognize her as their mother at all,'' the court spokesman said. ``Given overall conditions, we decided to give custody to their father but enabled her to meet them on a regular basis for humanitarian concerns.''

The former husband has appealed the case to overturn the court's decision to grant her the right to meet the children.

The lawyer for the migrant woman was cautious in commenting on the case for fear that media exposure may adversely affect her and further anger her former husband who may withholds the children from her.

``The court allowed the meeting, but it doesn't necessarily mean the meeting will be realized any time soon,'' the lawyer told The Korea Times. ``If the former husband refuses, it's impossible for her to meet them.''

The lawyer added another suit for alimony is underway, with its conclusion expected by the first half of the year.

The Vietnamese Embassy in Seoul said it is preparing measures to help with disputes among Korean-Vietnamese couples, but refused to elaborate.

The Korea Immigration Office estimated the number of Korean-Vietnamese couples here to be 27,092 last year, the third largest international marriage group.

pss@koreatimes.co.kr