Vietnamese woman assaulted in South Korea wants divorce, custody of son

The 30-year-old unnamed woman, who was living in South Jella Province, 300 km south of Seoul, has asked the Vietnamese Embassy in South Korea and relevant authorities to continue supporting her so she can stay legally in South Korea.

She also wishes that her mother comes to South Korea to help her, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

The woman is now being treated at a hospital for a fractured rib, which is expected to take four weeks. She has to take care of her son in the hospital.

The Vietnamese Embassy in South Korea said it has contacted the woman on Tuesday and is working with the South Jella’s Women Migrants Human Rights Center and local police on the videotaped incident of her husband beating her up in front of their son on July 4. It also asked South Korea to deal strictly with domestic assaults on Vietnamese women.

The center would continue to support the Vietnamese woman’s treatment, ensure accommodation for the mother and child, and help hiring lawyers for them, said Kim Suk, director of the center.

A Facebook photo shows the Vietnamese woman taking care of her son at a hospital in South Korea where she is receiving treatment for a fractured rib caused by beating from her South Korean husband on July 4, 2019.

The video that went viral last weekend shows the Vietnamese woman being slapped, kicked and punched in the head by her 36-year-old husband for around three hours at their home in Yeongam, South Jeolla.

The beating 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, whose surname is Kim, was arrested on Saturday and is facing charges of battery and violating the South Korean law on child welfare. Police said the reason for the assault was that the woman could not speak Korean well. Kim reportedly told them that he was drunk when he assaulted her.

The result of an investigation into the incident is expected to be presented to the South Jella’s prosecution agency this week.

South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon has expressed regret over the brutal assault, saying he was sorry for the incident, Yonhap News Agency reported. Min Gap-ryong, commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency, has promised a "thorough investigation and rehabilitation for the victim."

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 agree to marry South 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 some people have been fatally beaten and others have committed suicide.

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