The government will soon set up a task force to reform the country's international matchmaking businesses following the murder of a Vietnamese woman by her South Korean husband early this
month, the prime minister's office said Friday.
The task force will discuss short- and long-term measures ranging from changing how international marriage brokerage businesses are run to helping foreign spouses settle in Korea, Kim Chang-young, the office's spokesman, told reporters.
Officials from the ministries of justice, gender equality, culture and foreign affairs, will take part in the team, he said.
Thach Thi Hoang Ngoc, 20, was beaten and stabbed to death at her home by her 47-year-old husband, who had a history of mental disorder, on July 8, just days after arriving to the country. The two met through an international matchmaking service, which failed to check his past record of
mental illness, according to police.
"I'm very sorry for the tragic incident as the South Korean prime minister," Prime Minister Chung Un-chan was quoted by his spokesman as saying at Friday's government meeting that discussed countermeasures to prevent such tragedies. "Although the incident was caused by a problematic
individual, the government needs to check comprehensively if there is anything wrong with the country's international marriage brokerage system and tighten its control on the brokerages."
Chung also ordered a budget increase for state-run facilities supporting multicultural families formed through international marriages, the spokesman said.
By Shim Sun-ah