A Korean man leaves the Mokpo branch of the Gwangju District Court, Monday, after a court reviewed whether to issue an arrest warrant for him on charges of assaulting his Vietnamese wife. / Yonhap

By Kim Jae-heun

Following the outrage generated by a video clip showing a Korean man assaulting his Vietnamese wife, many similar cases have shown that the immigration system here has made these women in particular vulnerable to domestic violence.

Initially the law used to require Korean husbands to be sponsors for their wives' visas and immigration status, and to apply for visa renewal or permanent residency. But the law was abolished in December 2011 to better protect marriage immigrants' human rights.

However, civic groups say remaining legal procedures still make it difficult for foreign wives to earn permanent residency or Korean nationality without their husbands' help.

"Foreigners need to undergo an interview after applying for Korean nationality, and until last year, the immigration authorities did not offer a chance for an interview to foreign wives if the Korean husbands did not accompany them," said Kang Hye-sook, a co-representative of the Women Migrants Human Rights Center of Korea.

This and many more complicated and ambiguous legal process ― which are almost impossible for immigrant wives to do alone, when their language skill is insufficient and there is no one to help them ― have given the men the power to control their foreign wives' fates over their stay. And this is why many women endure violence and abuse without reporting it to the law enforcement authorities.

Foreign wives can get the legal right to live here without the husbands' help if he dies or abandons them. Also, when foreign wives divorce their Korean husbands, they have to fight them in the court to prove it was their partners' fault for the split-up.

According to the Ministry of Justice, 132,391 foreign women ― or one in 10 of the total living in Korea ― were registered as marriage immigrants as of last December.

A 2017 survey by the National Human Rights Commission found that 42.1 percent of the 920 respondents had suffered from domestic violence. Thirty-eight percent suffered physical abuse, while nearly 20 percent said they were threatened with a weapon.

However, 31.7 percent said they did not seek any help. Twenty-five percent said they did not want others to know about the violence, while 20.7 percent said they did not know where to get help, and another 20.7 percent said they thought other people would not be able to solve the situation.

A 2015 study by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF) also showed 6.4 percent of divorced immigrant wives cited violence and ill-treatment as their reasons for leaving their husbands.

Kang said there should be a system offering relationship equality for interracial couples.

"A sexist family culture and a poor immigration system are reasons why immigrant wives are exposed to violence here," Kang said.

Meanwhile, the man in the video was arrested Monday for the assault on his wife at their home in Yeongam, South Jeolla Province. He is seen punching and kicking the woman and hitting her with an empty soju bottle because, he later said, she did not speak fluent Korean.

Gender Equality and Family Minister Jin Sun-mee visited the Vietnamese wife at a hospital in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, to console her. The minister promised to provide systematic support to the foreign wife.

Commissioner General Min Gab-ryong of the Korean National Police Agency met Vietnam's Public Security Minister To Lam who was visiting Korea, and expressed his regret about the incident, promising to conduct a thorough investigation.

Several online petitions were also uploaded on Cheong Wa Dae's website calling for stern punishment for the man, gaining about 10,000 signatures.