The foreign ministry on Friday expressed its condolences to the family of a Vietnamese woman killed by her South Korean husband in Busan last week and to the people of Vietnam, vowing to
ensure no similar incident happens again in the future.
Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan told Tran Trong Toan, the Vietnamese ambassador to South Korea, that the South government will "do everything to
prevent recurrences of such heinous crimes."
"I can assure you that my government will investigate this issue and make sure that we serve law and order and punish the criminal," Yu said.
The 20-year-old Thach Thi Hoang Ngoc was beaten and stabbed to death at her home by her 47-year-old husband, who had a history of mental disorder.
The two had met through an international matchmaking service, which failed to check his past record of mental illness.
Toan stressed the need for both governments to ensure more transparency in international marriages.
"In the context that we have very good overall relations with Korea and Korean people, both sides need to cooperate more closely to verify the
process of brokerage and help families achieve harmony and happiness," he said. "We should cooperate with the Korean government and people to further improve our relationship and this unfortunate case should not affect our overall relationship."
In response, Yu said the South will review the state of multicultural families and try to ensure proper naturalization and immigration processes.
There have been reports of domestic violence and human trafficking in international marriages between South Korean men and Southeast Asian women. In March, Cambodia placed a provisional ban on international marriages with South Koreans, citing fears of human trafficking through brokers.
Yu also donated money raised by the ministry staff to Toan, and asked him to give it to the family of the deceased. Toan expressed gratitude for the South Korean government's "concern and warm sentiment."