Spokesperson of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang

Theinformation was released by spokesperson of the Vietnamese Ministry of ForeignAffairs (MoFA) Le Thi Thu Hang in response to reporters’ queries regardingVietnam’s moves to protect the Vietnamese citizen in Hanoi on July 9.

Accordingto the spokesperson, the embassy has contacted the victim and sent representativesto visit her. Hang added that the embassy stays ready to take necessary citizenprotection measures to safeguard legitimate rights and interests andaspirations of the Vietnamese woman, who is now under treatment at a hospitalwith tight security.

Thespokesperson said the MoFA had held a working session with the RoK Embassy inVietnam to express Vietnam’s concern over the case, adding that the RoK sidenoted regrets for the incident and pledged to pay special attention to it.

Hangsaid the number of marriages between Vietnamese and Koreans has increased over recentyears. Most couples have a stable life, but conflicts happen in some families fordifferent reasons.

Shewent on to say that to protect the rights and interests as well as happiness ofVietnamese-Korean families, Vietnamese officials at all levels have discussedthese matters with the RoK side.

TheMoFA has taken many citizen protection measures, including asking competentagencies and social organisations of the RoK to teach Korean language andculture, provide vocational training and create jobs for Vietnamese citizensmarried to Koreans.

Besides,it has established a cooperation mechanism with the RoK Migrant Women’sEmergency Support Centre to exchange information and swiftly address emergencycases relating to Vietnamese brides in the country, while closely coordinatingwith the RoK Ministries of Justice, Foreign Affairs, and Gender Equality andFamily to deal with incidents involving Vietnamese citizens married to Koreans.

Theministry has regularly brought the issue up during annual consular consultationmeetings between Vietnam and the RoK, and asked the RoK side to tightencoordination and take measures and policies to ensure stable and happy mixed-racefamilies, according to the spokesperson.

The case of violence made headlines in both countries over the weekend,after a video went viral of a 36-year-old Korean man punching and kicking hisVietnamese wife in the presence of their two-year-old son. The violence leftthe woman with a broken rib and other injuries that require four weeks oftreatment.

The man, a resident of Yeongam, South Jeolla province, about 390km southof Seoul, reportedly beat his wife for three hours on July 4 for not speakingKorean well before he was put under emergency detention. He has been arrestedand detained for eight days for investigation.

Vietnamese Embassy in RoK protects citizen in violence case
 

The husband was arrested and the results of the investigation are expected to be submitted to the local prosecutor’s office this week for settlement.

Representatives from the Vietnamese Embassy in the Republic of Korea (RoK) on July 9 visited a Vietnamese-born wife beaten recently by her Korean husband.

The embassy’s representatives also had a working session with the centre for married women migrants human rights and police of South Jeolla province, which is home to the couple.

The woman said she wants to receive assistance from the Vietnamese Embassy and relevant agencies of the RoK to get divorced and have the right to bring up her kid, and continue to live legally in the country.

Kim Suk, director of the centre, said her centre will continue helping the woman to recover her health, ensure accommodation for the woman and her kid during the settlement process, and assist her in hiring a lawyer to protect her legitimate rights and interests.

Korean Minister of Gender Equality and Family Jin Sun-mee visited the woman and asked for the establishment of an urgent assistance group for similar cases, she said.

According to South Jeolla’s police, the husband was arrested, and the results of the investigation are expected to be submitted to the provincial prosecutor’s office this week for settlement.

The Vietnamese Embassy said after learning about the incident, it contacted with the Korean National Policy Agency and South Jeolla’s police and the centre for married women migrants human rights to verify information about the incident.

The embassy has also asked relevant agencies to join hands in the settlement of the case in line with the RoK’s law.

It will continue to partner with the centre for married women migrants human rights and police of South Jeolla to provide consular assistance for the woman.

At receptions for Vietnamese Minister of Public Security General To Lam and a delegation of the Vietnamese National Assembly (NA), who are paying working visits to the RoK, the Korean Prime Minister, Speaker of the Korean NA and head of the Korean National Policy Agency pledged to deal with the incident and take measures to prevent recurrence of similar cases.

RoK top legislator pledges to prevent violence against Vietnamese brides

Tran Van Tuy (L), head of the NA’s Committee for Deputy Affairs and President of the Vietnam – RoK Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group, and peaker of the RoK’s National Assembly Moon Hee-sang

The Republic of Korea (RoK)’s parliament will make efforts to ensure no more recurrence of abuse of Vietnamese brides by their Korean husbands, affirmed Speaker of the RoK’s National Assembly Moon Hee-sang.

The official made the statement while receiving a delegation of the Vietnamese National Assembly led by Tran Van Tuy, head of the NA’s Committee for Deputy Affairs and President of the Vietnam – RoK Friendship Parliamentarians’ Group, in Seoul on July 9.

Moon stated that Vietnam and the RoK have close relations and that his country considers Vietnamese expatriates its citizens.

For his part, Tuy said he hopes such family violence like the recent case is just an exception and requested that the RoK NA and Government will not let similar cases to happen again.

He noted his delegation’s current visit aims to monitor the implementation of agreements between the two governments, wishing it to help strengthen the countries’ strategic cooperative partnership.

The official expressed his hope that the Vietnam – RoK and RoK – Vietnam Friendship Parliamentarians’ Groups will carry out more activities in the coming time.

He asked his host to pay attention to boosting RoK’s investment in Vietnam as well as the teaching of Korean in Vietnam and Vietnamese in the RoK.

Enhancing information sharing between the two nations is also necessary to timely tackle problems arising within the Vietnamese community in the RoK and the Korean community in Vietnam, Tuy added.

In response, Moon said he will work to encourage RoK firms to invest more in Vietnam.

The RoK National Assembly will build a law to protect foreigners in the country, including those from Vietnam, he stressed.

Moon also took the occasion to thank the Vietnamese Government for hosting the second summit between the US and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in Hanoi, adding that the event is a beginning of further steps toward a peaceful Korean Peninsula.

The same day, the Vietnamese delegation had a friendly meeting with Kim Hak-yong, head of the RoK National Assembly’s Environment and Labour Committee, who was recently honoured with the Friendship Order of the Vietnamese State for his significant contributions to the strategic partnership between the two countries.

Earlier, on July 8, the delegation paid a courtesy call to Prime Minister of the RoK Lee Nak-yon, who highlighted that he pays attention to multicultural families and the protection of the wives in these families.

He stated the RoK Government will carry out measures to prevent domestic violence against foreign wives.

The RoK Government leader said he values the relations with Vietnam and will make efforts to increase the RoK’s investment in and technology transfer to Vietnam.

Vietnam, RoK vow to continue with cooperation in crime combat
 

Officials from the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security and the RoK’s Supreme Prosecutor’s Office

Vietnam and the Republic of Korea (RoK) have agreed to continue their cooperation in fighting terrorism, drug, high-tech, economic and sex crimes, money laundering and trafficking.

The consensus was reached during the talks between Vietnamese Minister of Public Security General To Lam and RoK Prosecutor General Moon Moo-il in Seoul on July 9.

The two sides also concurred to enhance criminal judicial support and collaboration in the extradition and transfer of sentenced persons, while improving the efficiency of personnel training cooperation.

Prosecutor General Moon Moo-il hailed Minister To Lam’s visit to the RoK, saying that it will contribute to deepening the strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries, as well as between RoK law enforcement agencies and the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security.

The Prosecutor General expressed his regrets for the recent assault on a Vietnamese-born wife by her Korean husband, and noted that the RoK’s Supreme Prosecutor’s Office is working with competent agencies to promptly deal with the incident, ensuring legitimate rights and interests of foreigners married to Koreans.

For his part, Lam thanked the active engagement of the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office and other relevant agencies of the RoK in the investigation and settlement of the abuse case.

Host and guest highlighted the strong development across spheres of the Vietnam-RoK relations since the two countries set up diplomatic ties 25 years ago, especially since they elevated their relationship to a strategic cooperative partnership in 2009.

They took note of the effective implementation of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in cross-border crime combat, which was signed between the Vietnamese Ministry of Public Security and the RoK Supreme Prosecutor’s Office during Moon’s visit to Vietnam last January.

The two sides agreed that the MoU has opened up a new chapter and created a legal corridor for bilateral partnership. 

Korean police pledge to look into violence against Vietnamese woman

The Republic of Korea (RoK)’s police chief has expressed regrets over a recent assault on a Vietnamese woman by her Korean husband, and vowed to conduct a thorough investigation into the case.

Korean husband arrested for beating Vietnamese wife

The police in the Republic of Korea have arrested a 36-year-old man for beating his Vietnamese-born wife after a video went viral of him punching and kicking her in the presence of their two-year-old son.