Cambodia lifts ban on marriages to South Koreans
News Aus.Com
CAMBODIA has overturned a ban imposed last month on South Koreans marrying its nationals, after introducing new rules to combat human trafficking, the foreign ministry said.
CAMBODIA has overturned a ban imposed last month on South Koreans marrying its nationals, after introducing new rules to combat human trafficking, the foreign ministry said.
Cambodia brought in the temporary ban after a matchmaker was sentenced to 10 years in jail for bringing 25 women from the countryside in an attempt to broker marriages with South Korean men.
Phnom Penh decided to lift the suspension after introducing changes including a requirement for couples to be together at all times during the marriage process, foreign ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said.
"These regulations will prevent human trafficking and fake marriages," Koy Kuong told AFP.
The number of Cambodian women marrying Korean men more than doubled from 551 in 2008 to 1372 last year, according to a March report from South Korean news agency Yonhap.
Cambodia previously imposed a temporary ban on foreign marriages in 2008 to prevent human trafficking, amid concerns over an explosion in the number of brokered unions involving South Korean men and poor Cambodian women. That ban followed an International Organisation for Migration report that said many Cambodian brides suffered abuse after moving to South Korea in marriages hastily arranged by brokers who made large profits.
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The restriction was lifted about eight months later after new laws were introduced to prevent women becoming mail-order brides.
CAMBODIA has overturned a ban imposed last month on South Koreans marrying its nationals, after introducing new rules to combat human trafficking, the foreign ministry said.
CAMBODIA has overturned a ban imposed last month on South Koreans marrying its nationals, after introducing new rules to combat human trafficking, the foreign ministry said.
Cambodia brought in the temporary ban after a matchmaker was sentenced to 10 years in jail for bringing 25 women from the countryside in an attempt to broker marriages with South Korean men.
Phnom Penh decided to lift the suspension after introducing changes including a requirement for couples to be together at all times during the marriage process, foreign ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said.
"These regulations will prevent human trafficking and fake marriages," Koy Kuong told AFP.
The number of Cambodian women marrying Korean men more than doubled from 551 in 2008 to 1372 last year, according to a March report from South Korean news agency Yonhap.
Cambodia previously imposed a temporary ban on foreign marriages in 2008 to prevent human trafficking, amid concerns over an explosion in the number of brokered unions involving South Korean men and poor Cambodian women. That ban followed an International Organisation for Migration report that said many Cambodian brides suffered abuse after moving to South Korea in marriages hastily arranged by brokers who made large profits.
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The restriction was lifted about eight months later after new laws were introduced to prevent women becoming mail-order brides.
