The Mirror, Vol. 12, No. 556
Press Release – Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Phnom Penh
“Recently, the Royal Government of Cambodia has suspended the processing of all marriage documents of its citizens who want to marry a foreigner. A senior official of Cambodia was quoted in a newspaper, saying, ‘There are some cases of human trafficking, found in the activities of the marriage industry in Cambodia.’ Another senior official of Cambodia was also quoted, saying, ‘The temporary suspension aims to put a stop to human trafficking under the pretext of marriages.’ The official continued, ‘Seven women returned from South Korea because they could not bear what had happened to them there.’
“The Royal Government of Cambodia reacted immediately on international marriages, after there had been a report by the International Organization for Migration [IOM] related to cases of emergency, as a result of the system of selecting partners for international marriages, which is practiced in Cambodia and in Korea, and there had as well reports in local and international newspapers on these issues, with the key words of ‘human trafficking.’
“The UN definition of ‘human trafficking’ says: “The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation”.
“However, I have so far never heard those words of threats, kidnapping, deception, and abuse by using force, or taking a chance when the victims are weak, or by providing or taking benefits to make the weaker agree with others whom to accept as manager or boss, in an attempt of exploitation in marriages between Cambodians and Koreans. They all married of their own free will, according the procedures of both countries. If the Royal Government of Cambodia believes those brides were sold to Korea, the businesspeople who run marriage companies – both Korean and Cambodian – must be criminals, and they should be caught by the police without delay. But if this is not true, it is completely regrettable that Cambodian officials used the words of ‘human trafficking’ for international marriages between Cambodians and Koreans.
“In fact, it is reported that there are seven women who returned form South Korea, because they could not bear what had happened to them there. If we compare the total number of about 2,500 brides who married Korean men during the period of the last four years, there are only seven women reported to have come back; this is an extremely small number (of less than 0.3 percent). If compared to the increase and the high rate of divorces in modern societies of other countries, it is a shame that the IOM ignores the other 2,493 successful marriages, but it focuses only on a small number of cases that should be treated with extreme care.
“It is also unfortunate that a famous international newspaper had reported, based on the IOM reports, that the grooms have paid up to US$20,000 to matchmakers; while the brides’ families received US$1,000 at the most, and the rest went into the pockets of the matchmakers.
“This is not so. The IOM report said that the Korean men paid between US$5,000 to US$20,000 for the total package tourist service of agents; the grooms paid the brides’ families for traveling and for staying in Phnom Penh, as well as for the wedding gift, from US$300 to US$1,000.
“I would like to express my own view by absolutely rejecting the words ‘human trafficking’ in this context. Truly, there are some aspects of the system of international marriages of selecting partners which need to be improved and corrected. Vast commissions paid, and the limited time for future husbands and wives to understand each other, are among those elements to be changed.
“Moreover, different governments and civil institutions must use their own ideas to help husbands and wives from different ethnic cultures to settle in their target countries well, and to bring with them happiness into their married life in the era of globalization. Efforts to overcome the differences of cultures and to solve misunderstandings in communication are to be of the highest priority.
“Shin Hyun-Suk [ 신현석 ]“Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to the Royal Government of Cambodia”
Rasmei Kampuchea, Vol.16, #4567, 19.4.2008
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