Through changes in immigration duties guidelines, Ministry of Justice now allows foreigners whose marriages with a Korean national has failed to apply for acquisition of Korean nationality. However, in order to do so, they would need to provide a certificate from an authorized women’s organization, and through careful examinations of the candidates, Ministry of Justice has selected 197 such women’s organizations throughout the country. Traditionally, in such cases, only court rulings which state that the divorce was considered valid.

In order to be completely objective and unbiased in selecting such “authorized women’s organizations,” the Ministry of Justice took in a number of advises recommendations from multiple related sources (such as the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, members of the MOJ’s women’s policy committee, and foreign women). Finally, a total of 197 organizations were selected, including the Korea Legal Aid Center For Family Relations, Migrant Women’s Hotline 1366 Center, and Domestic Violence Protection Center.

They were chosen for being recommended, previous record of counseling foreign wives, and accessibility. It should also be mentioned that this is a growing list, and any organization may be added to the list in the future if they are found to have public trust.

The Ministry of Justice said “through this change, women whose marriages didn’t work out can still apply for Korean nationality if they can prove that the divorce was due to no fault of their own through certificate from authorized women’s organization. However, it must be noted that certificates that they submit will be very closely examined by the Ministry of Justice, and the fact that they applied for Korean nationality does not necessarily mean that they will actually acquire Korean nationality. In addition, providing a court ruling will speed up the process considerably.”

☞ View full list of authorized women’s organization