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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SEOUL 001398 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KS KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG
SUBJECT: MARRIAGE BROKERS OUT IN FRONT OF KOREAN LEGISLATION 
 
REF: SEOUL 810 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1.  (SBU) The trend for international marriages continues to 
rapidly increase in Korea as in other countries in the 
region.  Marriage brokers have quickly adapted to the 
increased demand and have found ways to cash in on the 
lucrative business.  Despite the plethora of legitimate 
broker companies, a number of unscrupulous businesses have 
also emerged and caught the attention of the National 
Assembly.  Representative Kim Chun-jin of the Health and 
Welfare Committee proposed a bill to regulate marriage broker 
companies.  The bill is likely to "weed out" many 
illegitimate businesses and help improve the image of 
respectable businesses in this growth industry that involves 
large amounts of revenue and little supervision.  The 
National Assembly chose not to consider the proposed law when 
it was first drafted in June 2006 and has yet to take it up 
thus far in 2007.  END SUMMARY. 
 
----------------- 
MARRIAGE IN A BOX 
----------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) As noted in reftel, Korean citizens, predominantly 
men, are increasingly considering international marriage as 
relatively simple way to find a spouse and start a family. 
In the case of men who are impoverished, divorced, 
handicapped, or suffer from mental disorders, it is 
increasingly difficult to find women in Korea who are willing 
to marry.  Many of these individuals rely on marriage brokers 
for assistance.  As a result, there are currently 2,098 
marriage brokers registered in Korea. 
 
¶3.  (U) Building on a practice that has a long history in 
Korea, marriage mediation continues today in various forms. 
Parents often work behind the scenes to ensure that their son 
or daughter marries an "appropriate" spouse who will allow 
the family name to remain strong, if not increase the 
standing of the family. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The modern form of this practice is for a single 
man to contact a marriage broker who finds the man a foreign 
spouse.  Comprehensive services ranging from a personality 
assessment to plane tickets to Vietnam to the food at the 
wedding reception are provided by most of the larger broker 
companies.  In addition to the larger companies, a number of 
marriage brokers are smaller "mom and pop" businesses that 
focus solely on international marriages because of the higher 
profit margins over domestic marriages.  In 61 percent of 
companies listed as marriage brokers, the company president 
also acts as a matchmaker, indicating a relatively small 
operating staff.  Many international brokers got their start 
as an employee at a trading company that had business 
dealings in the region; many of them are married to a foreign 
spouse. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Clients are often asked to pay USD 10,000 or more 
for these comprehensive services.  One NGO reported that fees 
range as high as USD 17,000.  A report from the National 
Assembly showed that the average revenue for a broker is 
estimated at between 20 million and 60 million won per month 
(roughly USD 20,000 to USD 60,000).  Many clients from the 
poorer rural areas cannot afford these steep prices so they 
enlist the help of families and friends to gather the 
requisite money.  In other cases, municipal governments have 
subsidized the cost of international marriage in an attempt 
to help keep residents in the outlying districts, typically 
agricultural communities.  Currently, 60 local governments 
have programs to financially support international marriage 
through a broker. 
 
---------------------- 
CONCERNS ABOUT BROKERS 
---------------------- 
 
SEOUL 00001398  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The National Assembly's Health and Welfare 
Committee identified a number of concerns that prompted the 
proposed legislation to better manage marriage brokers. 
First, there are increased concerns about the possibility of 
trafficking in persons given the lack of transparency in the 
recruiting of potential spouses in the sending country. 
Additionally, false or exaggerated information about the 
potential Korean spouse has led many foreign brides to report 
that they were married under fraudulent circumstances. 
Second, as profits soar and competition among brokers heats 
up, there is increasing concern that the industry will foment 
illegal or nefarious activity.  Third, there is little 
recourse for husbands in the event they are dissatisfied with 
the outcome of their broker transaction.  Whether the issue 
relates to the fees that were paid or the promises that were 
made, on a very basic level, there is a concern for the 
protection of the consumer in a business transaction. 
 
 
-------------------- 
PROPOSED LEGISLATION 
-------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Representative Kim Chun-jin, a member of the Health 
and Welfare Committee in the National Assembly, told poloff 
he proposed a law that would impose some basic restrictions 
on companies that broker international marriages.  Initially, 
regulation of brokers will come in the form of consumer 
protection laws focusing on the transaction between the 
broker and the client.  The proposed Act on International 
Marriage Brokerage stipulates that before a broker can 
arrange a marriage, an explicit contract must be drafted 
between the broker and the client.  This contract must 
specify the terms of the deal including all fees and services 
to be rendered.  The contract must also specify the terms 
under which a refund may be granted, if at all.  The new law 
will also specify the obligations of the broker and the 
accompanying penalties if those obligations are not met. 
 
¶8.  (SBU) One area that is still under consideration is 
whether or not to introduce a permission-based system of 
marriage brokerage rather than the current registration- 
based model.  Under the proposed system, an aspiring marriage 
broker would apply for a license from the Ministry of Health 
and Welfare.  Currently, a marriage broker need only register 
with the local government, which does not conduct any 
investigations into the business owner or business practices. 
 The National Assembly chose not to consider the proposed law 
when it was first drafted in June 2006 and has yet to take it 
up thus far in 2007. 
 
----------------------------------- 
COMPANY PROFILE:  INTERWEDDING LTD. 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) In a meeting with poloff, Lee Eun-tae, the founder 
and president of the largest marriage broker in Korea, shared 
his thoughts about the law and marriage brokers in Korea. 
Founded in 1998, Interwedding LTD. boasts 30 branches 
nationwide and 8 branches outside of the country.  In 2006, 
Interwedding was responsible for arranging 15 percent of 
international marriages in Korea.  Building on his background 
as a tour coordinator, Lee founded the company after several 
business acquaintances asked him for assistance in marrying a 
foreign spouse.  From the outset, the majority of requests 
were for ethnic Korean Chinese or Russian spouses.  After a 
few years, the trend shifted toward Southeast Asia and now 
the majority of Lee's business is done in Vietnam, Cambodia 
and Thailand. 
 
---------------------------- 
THE ABC'S OF GETTING MARRIED 
---------------------------- 
 
¶10.  (SBU) First, the prospective client registers with 
Interwedding on the Internet and submits basic biographical 
information.  An Interwedding consultant contacts the client 
 
SEOUL 00001398  003 OF 003 
 
 
to discuss the company's services and options.  Next, the 
client visits an Interwedding office for a detailed 
consultation to ascertain the client's preferences and begin 
the search for a suitable foreign spouse.  Although some 
clients have already determined the country of preference, 
other clients rely on Interwedding to make a recommendation 
based on the personality and situation of the client. 
Clients are asked to provide Interwedding with a copy of 
their birth certificate and Korean ID, but no financial 
documents, job information or police records.  Lee said that 
the initial processing of a new client usually takes between 
one to two months before the arrangements are finalized to 
travel to the foreign country to select a spouse. 
 
¶11.  (SBU) Lee described his typical client as a Korean male 
who either owned a farm or a small family business.  Most 
clients were between 35 and 40 years of age and 80 percent 
were not previously married.  The typical spouse was a 
conservative female from the countryside who was not 
previously married.  Complaints from foreign spouses 
typically come from Russian or Chinese brides who have 
difficulty adjusting to Korean culture or who are 
dissatisfied with the housewife lifestyle in Korea.  The 
majority of complaints from husbands are because of brides' 
requests to send money back home to their families. 
 
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COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶12.  (SBU) International marriage is not a new trend in 
Korea.  Ethnic Korean Chinese have been the predominant 
source of foreign brides for Korean men for the past decade. 
These women, who typically speak Korean, have managed to 
integrate themselves somewhat into Korean society, especially 
as members of the labor force.  As more Korean men marry 
brides from Southeast Asia, the ROKG faces new challenges 
integrating foreign women into the Korean culture.  While the 
Ministry of Gender Equality and Family works to address these 
concerns, the National Assembly continues to struggle with 
its challenge of how to regulate the marriage brokerage 
industry and protect the rights of both Korean and foreign 
citizens.  In the meantime, there is a steady flow of 
customers lining up at Interwedding and other marriage 
brokers throughout Korea. 
VERSHBOW