Vietnamese woman assaulted in South Korea recovers, to move to support center

The unnamed woman, who has been receiving treatment for a fractured rib at a hospital in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, 300 kilometers south of Seoul, is expected to be discharged next week, Vietnam News Agency reported.

South Korean authorities are investigating the attack and completing paperwork for the woman’s divorce, custody of her son and legal stay in South Korea, Kim Suk, director of the Women Migrants Human Rights Center in South Jeolla, said.

She will move to the center soon.

A video that went viral earlier this month shows the 30-year-old woman being slapped, kicked and punched in the head by her 36-year-old Korean husband for around three hours at their home in Yeongam, South Jeolla. It was witnessed by their two-year-old son.

The woman secretly filmed the assault on her mobile phone and showed it to a Vietnamese friend, who reported the incident to the police before uploading the video online.

The husband, identified only by his surname, Kim, has been arrested and faces charges of battery and violating child welfare laws.

The police said the reason for the assault was that the woman could not speak Korean well. Kim reportedly told them he was drunk at the time.

South Korea's top leaders have expressed regret for the incident and promised thorough investigation.

Vietnam has overtaken China as the country sending the largest number of brides to South Korea, according to the South Korean embassy in Hanoi. Around 6,000 Vietnamese women have been marrying South Koreans every year for the last few years.

Many Vietnamese women from poor rural families marry Korean men in the hope of finding a better life and help their impoverished relatives at home. But several marriages have suffered from language and cultural differences. In some extreme cases the women have been fatally beaten or have committed suicide.

According to a survey of 920 foreign brides last year by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, including from Cambodia, China, the Philippines, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam, 42.1 percent said they experienced domestic violence and 68 percent had faced unwanted sexual advances. 20 percent were threatened with weapons and 19 have been killed in the last 10 years.