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ABC KID
Joined: 14 Sep 2007
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 Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2007 3:06 pm Post subject: Bigamy In South Korea |
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A while back I started the thread highlighted below about marrying a Korean...
http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?p=1442077&highlight=#1442077
Earlier this morning I suddenly started wondering about Bigamy in South Korea (Not because I want to to do it myself!).
I know some Korean men and women lead double lives but does bigamy exist in South Korea? Is it widespread? What are the punishments, if any, for getting caught?
And how about you? In the thread I highlighted above, a large number of people were happy at the thought of marrying a Korean and I recommend it myself if you find the right person...
However, a significant minority said they would never marry a Korean. So how does the thought of two Korean husbands or wives make you feel? |
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The_Conservative
Joined: 15 Mar 2007
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| Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2007 4:38 pm Post subject: Re: Bigamy In South Korea |
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| ABC KID wrote: |
A while back I started the thread highlighted below about marrying a Korean...
http://forums.eslcafe.com/korea/viewtopic.php?p=1442077&highlight=#1442077
Earlier this morning I suddenly started wondering about Bigamy in South Korea (Not because I want to to do it myself!).
I know some Korean men and women lead double lives but does bigamy exist in South Korea? Is it widespread? What are the punishments, if any, for getting caught?
And how about you? In the thread I highlighted above, a large number of people were happy at the thought of marrying a Korean and I recommend it myself if you find the right person...
However, a significant minority said they would never marry a Korean. So how does the thought of two Korean husbands or wives make you feel? |
Considering that adultery is still punishable by law, I'd think bigamy is also illegal. |
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the eye
Joined: 29 Jan 2004
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| Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2007 4:55 pm Post subject: |
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Soldier Gets 10 Months for Adultery
Stars and Stripes | By Hwang Hae-rym and Teri Weaver | January 13, 2006
UIJEONGBU, South Korea � A married U.S. soldier accused of persuading his girlfriend to have sex in return for marriage was sentenced Wednesday to 10 months in South Korean prison.
Sgt. Jin-hong Han, 35, looked down and remained quiet when Judge Kim Byung-ju handed down the sentence in Uijeongbu District Court. Last month, Han admitted to adultery and breaching the promise of marriage, both crimes in South Korea.
Han has a week to decide whether to appeal his sentence, according to the judge.
Right after the sentencing, Kim ordered Han detained by South Korean authorities. But Han and his lawyer requested he be held by U.S. Forces Korea officials until a decision is made about whether to appeal.
On Wednesday afternoon, both South Korean and U.S. authorities were working to see if the United States could continue to detain Han based on the status of forces agreement between the two countries. The U.S. military also has begun its own investigation into the case.
During the sentencing, Judge Kim acknowledged that the crime of sexual intercourse under the pretense of marriage exists in South Korea but not America.
Still, the judge considered that Han grew up in South Korea, lied to his girlfriend about his marriage and his rank, and even hired a person to play his father when he met his girlfriend�s parents.
Han, who is a U.S. citizen, moved to America during high school, then joined the U.S. Army in 2000. He was stationed at Camp Red Cloud in 2004, according to his lawyer�s statements in court last month.
Han met his wife via an online dating service. A month after their marriage, he sought out another woman through the same Web site, according to his lawyer.
He began dating the second woman last fall, telling her he was a lieutenant colonel making $90,000 a year, Jung said. Their relationship grew to the point that they decided to introduce their parents to each other, the lawyer said. The meeting took place at the Ritz-Carlton hotel in Seoul, but to keep his marriage a secret, Han hired a man to act as his father, the lawyer said.
In the end, both women grew suspicious and discovered Han�s duplicity, according to the lawyer.
Kim did not order Han to pay any fines or settlement money to either woman. |
http://www.military.com/features/0,15240,85338,00.html |
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the eye
Joined: 29 Jan 2004
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| Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2007 4:58 pm Post subject: |
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Adultery Law: A Necessary Evil?
The Korea Herald, March 7, 2005
By Shin Hae-in
Less than a couple of centuries ago, it was natural for Korean men to have more than one wife and women to accept polygamy since they had to depend on their husbands. In recognition of an increasing awareness of women�s rights, several National Assembly lawmakers came up with a bill in 1951 to provide for lawsuits on adultery, although the main purpose was to eradicate polygamy and establish gender equality.
Despite fierce opposition from conservative men, the bill was approved by parliament on April 1953, and was enacted in the criminal law the following year. Now, though the law played a major role in helping women achieve equality in marriage, many are questioning whether it is still necessary, and whether the government has the right to meddle in personal matters.
Last month, a debate on the need for the law swept the nation once again when a well-known actress was arrested for adultery with a married man.
Because the details were disclosed publicly, the actress claimed her life had been ruined. �I admit what I have done is bad. But how can I learn my lesson and live on now that the society has marked me red for the rest of my life?� the actress said in an interview.
Immediately after the case broke, the Web site naver.com asked 21,000 nationwide Internet users their thoughts, and up to 54 percent answered that the adultery law should be repealed while 46 percent said it should be kept.
Yet, only a few years back, an overwhelming majority of the public had favored keeping the law, asserting that preserving monogamy was more important than personal privacy, and that the law was the last resort for wives who suffer because of their husbands� extra marital affairs.
The conservative Constitu-tional Court also declared the law constitutional when it was appealed in 1990 and 2001, asserting that upholding monogamy was a priority for personal rights.
In 2001, more than 63 percent of the 2,500 adults nationwide wanted the law to stay while only 30 favored repeal, according to the Korean Association of Women�s Studies research. The rest answered that that law should be abolished eventually, but now was not the right time.
The research showed a clear divide between the conservatives and the progressives of the nation, with those in favor of the law showing right wing characteristics, while the latter showed the opposite.
Those who wanted the law to stay answered that they regarded themselves to be conservative, and most of them were over 50 years old, married and had grown up in rural regions.
On the other hand, the group which regarded the law unnecessary had the opposite characteristics�regarding themselves as progressives, aged 20 to 30, unmarried and grew up in the city.
�Various polls and statistics show that the adultery law would definitely be abolished within the next century at the latest,� said Yoo Hyun-jin of Korean Womenlink, a women�s rights organization. �As time passes, more will agree that preserving personal rights is more important than keeping the social structure, and adultery is not a concept to be banned by the law.�
Yoo said that the adultery law did more bad than good to women when reviewed closely and actually worked as a huge obstacle to women achieving their own identity.
According to National Police Agency statistics, more than 40 percent of adultery charges were initiated by husbands against their wives last year, showing that the law no longer protected solely women.
While more men sue their wives, the circumstances remain harder for women because the law stipulates that the suit can only proceed when filed together with divorce. Thus, housewives who are financially dependent on their husbands have a hard time bringing a suit while husbands can sue wives and file for divorce much more easily.
�The adultery law was established based on the concept that women were subordinate to men. If the situation has changed, and the law does not protect women anymore, it is only right for it to be abolished,� said Yoo.
Professor Choi Byung-moon of Sangji University agreed with Yoo, saying that Korea was retrogressing from the international understanding that draws a line between morals and law by no longer punishing people for their immoral deeds.
�Korea and China are among the few nations that still have the adultery law,� said Choi. �I say it is time for Korea to repeal the law and come to an understanding that moral matters should always be left to individuals.�
Despite the international and domestic moves toward repeal, strong assertions remain that the law is needed to protect women, with actual cases providing proof.
On Web sites for divorce consultations, many women seek advice on adultery, each expressing frustration and looking for a legal solution.
�My husband promised me he would end his affair, but I found out recently that he had been keeping up his relationship with that woman for the past three years, and even turned all his property to her possession,� said a 43-year-old housewife on the Web site �Ihon Clinic,� set up by lawyers specializing in divorce suits.
�He now openly admits his relationship with her and asks me to divorce him. If it had not been for the adultery law, I would have had to divorce him and walk away with nothing. All the effort I put into him and the children, and this is what I get in return,� she added.
Lawyer Choi Soon-young says that, in reality, the adultery law is still a necessary evil for society.
�See, many of those who want the law abolished, are young and unmarried people who do not understand what the reality is for older and married women,� she said. �For those women it was natural not to have a career and devote themselves to their husbands, kids and saving money.
�Right now, it is them who need the law, not the younger generation who would without doubt enjoy much more gender equality than these women. It may be right to get rid of the law after the younger women become the wives,
http://www.sodomylaws.org/world/south_korea/skeditorials001.htmbut now is definitely not the time.� |
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Komichi
Joined: 19 Jul 2006
Location: Piano Street, Seoul
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| Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2007 4:59 pm Post subject: |
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| That's just as bad as teaching privates. |
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weatherman
Joined: 14 Jan 2003
Location: Korea
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| Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2007 5:21 pm Post subject: |
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| I knew a girl for a while whose father had two wives. An old man, he had about 13 children. If both wives were legal, I do not know, but both household clearly new of the sitution. He would spend time betwee both household which were located in different parts of the country. |
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cdninkorea
Joined: 27 Jan 2006
Location: Seoul
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| Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2007 5:26 pm Post subject: |
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| weatherman wrote: |
| I knew a girl for a while whose father had two wives. An old man, he had about 13 children. If both wives were legal, I do not know, but both household clearly new of the sitution. He would spend time betwee both household which were located in different parts of the country. |
A sweet setup or a situation not worth the headaches and (I assume) enormous expense? I'm not sure myself... |
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CentralCali
Joined: 17 May 2007
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| Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2007 5:48 pm Post subject: |
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the eye,
The story you quote is about the married soldier who lied to get sex from the woman and thus was guilty of both adultery and "obtaining sex under the promise of marriage." He did not marry the 2nd woman. |
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the eye
Joined: 29 Jan 2004
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| Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2007 6:29 pm Post subject: |
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I know. I read it... I thought it was interesting, and related.
On a side note, OP, why do you think most motels here have curtains hiding their parking lots, and a dark tint on their doors? |
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KumaraKitty
Joined: 09 Jan 2006
Location: Bucheon
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| Posted: Thu Dec 20, 2007 7:23 pm Post subject: |
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Hubby's cousin, 60 years old, (hubby's mom was a late in life baby!) has a wife and a son who is 24. They live in a nice apartment and he takes care of all their bills, education, etc.
Cousin lives with his mistress and their 13 year old daughter in a nice apartment, where he also takes care of all their bills, education etc. He never visits the wife, just pays her bills. Both sides seem to be well satisfied with the arrangement. The cousin was a former Police superintendent here in Korea, he know a lot of people and still has a lot of clout.
I find it incredibly bizarre, but the family just accepts it. |
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