When a man kills a woman

The Korea Times

The Korea Times

Opinion

Michael Breen

When a man kills a woman

Posted : 2010-07-15 18:38

Updated : 2010-07-15 18:38

By Michael Breen

The murder last week of a Vietnamese woman by her Korean husband, just days after her arrival in Korea, has prompted expressions of outrage and calls for action about the brokered weddings between local men and southeast Asian and Chinese women.

This newspaper, in an editorial, described its ``extreme sense of shame and embarrassment." Another local paper said, ``We must address these disgraceful cases of international marriages before they leave a lasting stain on our country."

By the weekend, the Ministry of Justice had decided that men going abroad for brides would henceforth be required to take a special education class, and that it would not give passports to men with mental illness backgrounds, criminal records, or three divorces from foreign brides.

This reaction raises a question. Are we addressing the right issue? When a man murders his wife is the issue really one of national branding?

If this question seems odd, take another look at those quotes from the newspaper editorials. The reason this newspaper feels ashamed is because the murderer is Korean and the victim not Korean. The other newspaper wants the government to do something about brokered marriages with foreigners, not because brokered marriages are anything new, nor because they're with foreigners, but because when this particular type go wrong, they cause the country an image problems.

The assumption, then, by newspapers at least, is that this murder highlights a broader social problem that damages Korea's international reputation. The important ingredient here is that Korea's reputation is hurt.

Given that, the government's response is considered appropriate. Surprisingly, however, no one seems to have noticed that the new measures represent a violation of civil rights. Why should anyone traveling overseas have to go like a schoolboy to a justice ministry lecture? When Korea was run by dictators, travelers had to attend lectures about North Korean spies and not giving the country a bad name by spending too much in shops and so on. But that was then.

Furthermore, on what basis does the government rule people who have suffered mental illness, been in jail, or married a lot, no longer eligible to marry foreigners? Why not pass a law saying such people, men or women, can't marry Koreans either?

The reason nobody has flagged this is because it is accepted that the interests of the group, or in this case the nation, overrides those of the individual. But here is the irony. A country that restricts its own people's civil rights without evidence of criminality in the broader interest of improving its own national standing in fact creates the opposite effect.

If the brokered marriages are the issue, then the government need take no action. Those who should act are the brokers. They need to screen their candidates if they want to maintain their business.

But, to return to the question, is this really the issue that arises from this murder? It is in fact more reasonable to see it in the context of domestic violence. Turn off the TV and open your apartment window on any night and the chances are that you will overhear a marital dispute. These occur at a high decibel level and appear to be frequently accompanied by fists and flying crockery.

From this perspective, the nationality of the victim only becomes relevant if there is a heightened pattern of abuse of Vietnamese women. That does not seem to be the case, which means that the wife's nationality is irrelevant.

What, then, can be done about domestic violence? Should all couples be required to have lectures about mutual respect of body as well as soul before they are granted marriage registration? Should men or women convicted of domestic violence be prevented from remarrying? Would the government only propose, and society accept, such measures if the country's reputation was being stained?

But, then, the murderer in this case does not seem to be a normal man. Police say he has a history of mental illness. The nature of this illness has not been clarified but this fact alone underscores the sobering reality that, as terrible and irreversible as it is, this family tragedy reflects no greater issue and therefore there is no action that can be taken.

Michael Breen is an author, former foreign correspondent and the chairman of Insight Communications, a public relations consulting company. He can be reached at mike.breen@insightcomms.com.