Immigrant Wives to Be Barred From Working in Entertainment Joints

Lee Hyo-sik

Staff Reporter

Foreign wives of Korean men will be barred from working at bars, room salons and other late-night entertainment establishments as part of government efforts to prevent the abuse of the nation’s international marriage system.

The government also plans to grant permanent resident status to musicians, artists and professional sports players living here for more than five years to attract foreign talents.

The Ministry of Justice Wednesday announced these and other changes to the country’s “Immigration Act” and submitted the revised bill to the National Assembly in the near future for approval.

It said it will ban foreign nationals tying the knot with Koreans from being hired by bars and other entertainment joints.

Foreign spouses of Korean nationals are granted F-2 visas.

Under the current law, it is hard to punish foreign wives engaging in late-night adult entertainment businesses. But under the revised immigration act, the government will be able to penalize them.

“It is problematic that some foreign spouses are working at karaoke bars and massage parlors to earn ‘easy’ money. The revision will help close loopholes in the law and create a sound marriage culture here,” a ministry official said.

A growing number of foreign women, particularly from China and Southeast Asian nations, have come here to marry Korean men over the years.

Some of them intentionally married Korean men to obtain an easy entry into the nation. After entering the country, they run away from home and work as a hostess at a bar or other entertainment establishments to make quick money.