The Cambodian government has temporarily suspended marriages between Cambodian women and South Korean men, a move to prevent fear of human trafficking, foreign ministry's official said on Monday. Koy Kuong, foreign ministry's spokesman, said that the Cambodia government informed South Korean Embassy in Phnom Penh that it had decided to temporarily suspend trans-marriage between the Cambodians and South Koreans. He said a diplomatic note was sent on March 5, just days after a Cambodian woman was arrested and convicted to 10 years in prison for brokering 25 girls from rural area for a S. Korean man. Last week, S. Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported that about 60 percent of Cambodian partners in international marriages are S. Koreans. Cambodia issued the same ban in 2008, but lifted it eight months later.
Korean editorials have been wondering whether there is a backlash against Korea in Asia (article in Japanese here).