From Loopholes to Legal Clarity: Child Marriage in South Korea

Published with The Borgen Project

Until recently, child marriage in South Korea remained legal for teens as young as 16 with parental consent, making the country an outlier among developed nations. However, that changed when lawmakers amended South Korea’s Civil Act to set the minimum marriage age at 18 with no exceptions. While child marriage affects one in five girls worldwide, the South Korean child marriage ban demonstrates that decisive policy and public awareness can dismantle harmful traditions, safeguard youth and advance the global movement to end child marriage.

From Loophole to Legal Clarity

The revised South Korea’s Civil Act, specifically Article 807, now establishes 18 as the absolute legal marriage age. This change frees minors from the pressure to marry before adulthood. Previously, Article 808 allowed underage marriage with parental consent but lawmakers eliminated that exception to safeguard young people. These reforms challenge traditional values in which parents play a decisive role in early marriage arrangements, causing South Korean parents to consider the concerns that the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child raised.

Marriages Beyond Borders: The Loophole Challenge

While South Korea’s child marriage ban closes domestic legal loopholes, a persistent concern remains in marriages arranged beyond its borders. Since the 1990s, international marriage brokers connect South Korean men with women from other countries. Some families exploit cross-border arrangements to wed partners under 18 abroad, and then return to register the marriage in South Korea.

This practice blurs the line between child marriage and human trafficking, pushing the boundaries of the child marriage ban in place. Brokers finalize matchmaking deals typically within nine days, giving minors and adults little time for informed consent.

As of 2007, 40% of Korean men in agriculture, forestry and fishing were married to foreign wives, primarily from China, Vietnam, Cambodia and the Philippines. Migrant brides face obstacles such as language barriers, economic dependency and cultural isolation, which make them vulnerable to abuse.

The Murder That Sparked Reform

A landmark case of abuse involves Thach Thi Hoang Ngoc, a 20-year-old Vietnamese bride, murdered by her mentally ill 46-year-old Korean husband only eight days after arriving in South Korea. The broker of the marriage failed to mention her husband had schizophrenia, causing a public outcry for officials to pay more attention to international marriage regulations.

“The general public in South Korea was shocked and outraged and demanded that the government take more proactive measures to strictly regulate international marriage practices,” Helen Lee wrote in a 2010 Law Library of Congress report.

In 2007, South Korea enacted the Act on Regulation of Marriage Brokerage Agencies which requires brokers to register, follow foreign regulations and provide written agreements between both parties to prove consent. The amended Act in 2010 imposes stricter restrictions and the Cross-Governmental Policy to Promote Wholesome International Marriage, which adds tighter broker rules and mandatory educational seminars for Korean spouses. Officials now conduct rigorous criminal and medical background checks to protect future spouses from dangers identifiable early on.

A Victory for Children’s Rights

South Korea currently holds one the world’s lowest teenage pregnancy rates—about two to three births per 1,000 girls aged 15-19. Even with these low figures, officials remain concerned about any link between the teenage pregnancy rate in South Korea and child marriage.

By enforcing Article 807, the child marriage ban in South Korea protects young people from early parenthood, helps ensure uninterrupted education and limits health risks associated with teenage pregnancy. The reform also advances Sustainable Development Goal 5.3 (SDG 5.3), the global pledge to end child marriage by 2030.

The Cultural Shift

Since the child marriage ban in South Korea, cultural standards surrounding arranged marriage have shifted. Once deeply rooted in Confucian traditions, matchmaking practices adapted to emphasize youth autonomy.

Rights organizations like Girls Not Brides note that child marriage in South Korea has been rare and often undocumented, linked more to gender inequality and trafficking than to mainstream cultural practices.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family celebrated South Korea’s reform as a step toward ensuring equal opportunities for all youth to pursue education, work, and personal growth.

Since lawmakers changed the legislation, cultural and familial approaches to matchmaking have shifted, and South Korea increasingly recognizes that personal choice to marry is paramount in marital decisions involving youth. As a 2022 study notes, “Young adults’ changing values, particularly concerning marriage, are among the key factors that have contributed to this phenomenon.”

Global Role in Ending Child Marriage in South Korea

The South Korean child marriage ban shows that even highly developed countries can harbor outdated laws, and that real change is possible with political will and public support. Local NGOs and South Korean citizens emphasize the need to pair strong legal protections with cultural change, using South Korea as an example of a successful complete ban on child marriage, barring parental consent as a factor entirely.

Nationwide awareness campaigns and school programs aim to promote the value of education, self-determination and self-advocacy in marital decisions. South Korea co-sponsored Human Rights Council initiatives aimed at ending child, early and forced marriage, addressing topics ranging from the consequences of child marriage to its occurrence in humanitarian crises, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For countries struggling with partial bans, South Korea offers a clear blueprint: set a clear minimum age, remove all exceptions and enforce the law consistently while updating legislation regularly. 

Looking Ahead

The child marriage ban in South Korea has focused attention on teenage pregnancy, education disruption and youth autonomy. The success of the laws and the government’s ongoing revisions ensure that minors will no longer face the same legal pressure or loss of agency in South Korea again.

South Korea’s journey from conditional allowances to a total ban proves that legal reform and public consensus can protect the formative years of life. It stands as a global role model for the global push to end child marriage and lower the teenage pregnancy rate worldwide.

– Nicole Fernandez

Nicole is based in Reno, NV, USA and focuses on Good News and Global Health for The Borgen Project.