By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter

More than 210 Koreans, Nepalis, and Vietnamese involved in brokering sham marriages between Koreans and foreign nationals who wished to work here or who had overstayed their visas have been indicted.

It was the largest broker organization here, with three Nepali groups and one Vietnamese group involved.

Police in Busan Monday arrested 10 people, including a 41-year-old Nepali, and booked 206 others without physical detention for arranging hundreds of foreigners' entry to Korea through marriages of convenience.

Opening an office in Seoul in March 2006, they brokered marriages between Koreans and Nepalis in exchange for 20 million won ($19,000) per person, so that the foreign nationals could come to Korea and work here. They paid 4 million won to the Koreans who entered into the bogus marriages.

Taking advantage of the fact that such Nepalis could not send the money they made illegally here to their families back in Nepal, the brokers remitted the money by proxy and took 20 percent as commission.

The Vietnamese brokers fabricated official documents needed in inviting Vietnamese nationals to Korea, after purchasing them at an Internet site, according to police.

``Brokerage for sham marriage is expanding from China to Vietnam, Nepal and Cambodia, as those countries have poor screening due to lack of computerized inspection systems,'' a police officer said.

Separately, Gangwon provincial police arrested six brokers and charged 188 others without physical detention for arranging false marriages through fabrication of passports and official documents.

The broker group included 33 Chinese, one South African and one Vietnamese.

Since April 2004, they arranged fake marriages for 43 Chinese who wanted to enter Korea to work here, in return for 8 to 10 million won from each of them. They have made some 400 million won so far.

rahnita@koreatimes.co.kr