KOREAN NET

Female workers need to be protected in the working environment due to the physical and physiological features of women. In particular, it is also an important duty of the government to establish a system that allows women whose careers have been interrupted due to marriage, pregnancy, and childbirth to return to work. The contents have been designed to provide legal information on the protection of female workers, such as what systems are in place to promote women's entry into the workforce.

The discussion of work-family balance goes beyond gender division and is required as a universal right and duty for both women and men, and accordingly, related laws are expanding various systems and support policies necessary for work-family balance.

This content provides legal information that is helpful for the balance between work and family life to make it easier for workers to understand more easily.

An international marriage is a marriage between two people of different nationalities.

In order for an international marriage to be valid in the Republic of Korea, the parties to a marriage shall meet the marriage conditions prescribed by the laws of their own countries respectively and report their marriage to an administrative agency so that their marital status is registered on the family relation register.

If a foreigner marries a national of the Republic of Korea and resides in the Republic of Korea, he/she is granted the status as the spouse of a national of the Republic of Korea. Therefore, he/she may change his/her preexisting status of sojourn to the Residence (F-2) visa which is issued to spouses of Korean nationals.

In addition, a foreigner who has married a national of the Republic of Korea

may attain the nationality of the Republic of Korea through naturalization, as prescribed by the Nationality Act. In case his/her spouse dies during the marriage, he/she may inherit the property of his/her spouse according to the order of inheritance, as prescribed by the Civil Act of the Republic of Korea.

A multicultural family means a family composed of an immigrant by marriage, a person who obtained permission for naturalization, or people who have acquired nationality of the Republic of Korea from the time of birth. Multicultural family members who raise children born in de facto marital relationships with a citizen of the Republic of Korea may also receive supports pursuant to 「the Multicultural Families Support Act」. A foreigner who has not ever acquired nationality of the Republic of Korea may acquire nationality of the Republic of Korea by obtaining permission for naturalization from the Minister of Justice. Naturalizations shall consist of general naturalization, simplified naturalization, and special naturalization. A foreigner who has reported a marriage with a Korean-national spouse may acquire nationality of the Republic of Korea more easily through simplified naturalization.

A Single-parent family means either a mother-and-child family or father-and-child family. Under the Single-parent Family Support Act, the Child (generally younger than age 18 or younger than age 22 if enrolled in school) support program is provided to the extent to which it is not duplicated with other social welfare benefits under other laws such as the National Basic Living Security Act to the mother or father who lost their spouse due to divorce, death, or going missing without verification of life or death, or whose spouse cannot work for a long time due to mental or physical disabilities.

Single-parent families are entitled to welfare benefits in the amount corresponding to the base median income, family income, and the wealth level of the beneficiary. In addition, Single-parent families are entitled to other additional support programs such as welfare loans for accelerating self-support, first priority right to buy or rent a certain assigned portion of national housing, and accommodations at Single-parent Family supporting facilities.