Foreign wives showing off rice cakes they made for Korea’s Chuseok holiday in the central city of Gongju on Sept. 9, 2019. (Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jan. 11 (Korea Bizwire) — The most-sought consultations by migrant women to address the difficulties they face in South Korea are legal consultations over how to respond to a variety of illegal behaviors, a civic support group for female immigrants said Monday.
The Seoul Counseling Center for Migrant Women analyzed the type of consultations it offered to 10,598 migrant women during the January to November period of last year.
Of the total, legal consultations accounted for the largest share at 21.6 percent.
The center explained that the legal advice centered on issues such as losses from theft, payment of penalties and the police reporting process.
Following next were consultations on divorce at 19.8 percent or 2,105 cases, domestic violence at 14.5 percent or 1,542 cases, and daily life consultations at 12.9 percent or 1,369 cases.
Other types of consultations the center offered to migrant women included those related to sojourn at 6.5 percent, psychological sentiment at 4.7 percent, medical issues at 3.2 percent and conflicts with husbands at 2.7 percent.
By nationality, Chinese migrant women accounted for the largest share at 27 percent of the consultations, followed by Vietnamese at 24 percent and Mongolian at 12.1 percent.
The center noted that when it comes to migrant women, they need consent from their husbands to extend the period of stay, adding that unlike Korean women, the share of consultations on sojourn issues is high for migrant women.
Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)
