By Kim Se-jeong



The National Policy Agency (NPA) said Sunday that it will open a Vietnamese Desk dedicated to handling crimes involving Vietnamese nationals in Korea.



This is the first time for police to set up a team exclusively for specific nationals.



Two officers will be tasked with overseeing all crimes involving Vietnamese people, both as victims and culprits.



"When a crime occurs involving Vietnamese nationals, police officers in the region will investigate the case while the Vietnamese Desk will manage the investigation, also cooperating and sharing information with the Vietnamese authorities," an NPA official said.



The move was reciprocal. Vietnam made the request in response to one made by Seoul for a Korean Desk at the Vietnamese Police Agency to protect Koreans in the Southeast Asian country. That desk opened in July.



It is in line with the increasing number of Vietnamese people in Korea. According to the Ministry of Justice, the number of Vietnamese residents in 2014 was 129,793. Half of them were between 20 and 29 years old. Marriage migrants accounted for almost one third, 39,725.



According to police, Vietnamese were the second biggest ethnic group to come under police investigation for crimes last year, with 1,943 cases, following Chinese who were involved in 17,870 cases.



The Vietnamese Desk is expected to help Vietnamese marriage migrants, who often fall victim to domestic violence.



Many such migrants, especially women, live with much older husbands in less affluent areas of the country, having struggle with new family and environment.



Five years ago, the murder of a Vietnamese wife by her Korean husband with mental illness made headlines both in Korea and Vietnam, creating a diplomatic incident. The Vietnamese government called for the Korean government to take action to curb the number of crimes involving its nationals.



Migrant workers from Vietnam are also sizable in Korea. Often they stay undocumented, and some fall into crime as they suffer money shortages.



Vietnam was the second country to have a Korean Desk in its police agency, following the Philippines.



The number of crimes involving Korean nationals in Vietnam is increasing. According to the police, 225 cases had Korean victims last year, while Koreans were criminals in 95 cases. Police said many Koreans escape to Vietnam after committing a crime in Korea. As of May this year, the police were still looking for 48 Korean criminals who were believed to have hid in Vietnam.



