40% of men marrying foreigners wed more than once
By Kim Bo-eun
Around 40 percent of men marrying foreign women through matchmaking agencies have been married more than once, data showed Thursday.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Justice, 12,816, or 38.9 percent, of the 32,916 men who completed an introductory program on interracial marriage in the past two years from October 2010 had previously been married.
Among them, 30.4 percent had been married once, 7 percent twice, 1.2 percent three times and 0.3 percent four times or more. Those who did not have a previous marriage took up 61.1 percent, data showed.
The program initiated by the Ministry of Justice in October 2010 aims to prepare Korean grooms for interracial marriages to minimize the problems that can arise. Those who do not complete the course cannot meet their foreign partners.
The data also showed that a large portion of the participants were middle-aged. Men aged 40 to 44 took up 32 percent, followed by those from 45 to 49 reaching 20.3 percent and 35 to 39 at 19.8 percent. Participants in their 50s or older also accounted for 19.8 percent.
According to the data, a significant percentage was unable to financially support their family. It showed that 17.8 percent of the grooms were living in poverty, including those who were unemployed, bankrupt or manual laborers.
The government has decided to tighten measures in issuing visas by setting a minimum level of income to determine whether the man has the ability to support a family. The current standards reject only those who are bankrupt or in default from applying for visas.
“It would be gender discrimination to require economic capabilities only from men, but in the case of interracial marriages where foreign wives come to a new country, they need two to three years to adjust to their new environment before they can start working,” said Kang Seong-Euy, secretary general of Women Migrants Humanrights Center. “Men who wed foreign women should at least be able to support themselves and their wives for that time period.”
Kang added that the problem in the current statute is that the wives apply for their visas after the marriage registration is completed.
“Both persons should know all the basic personal facts about each other before registering for marriage. Although there is a law in the matchmaking business that requires them to make criminal records, health conditions and number of previous marriages available to clients, the law is not being kept. The government needs to provide measures for stronger law enforcement,” said Kang.