Hanoi  - Police in Ho Chi Minh City arrested a man for running an illegal marriage brokerage that matched Vietnamese women and South Korean men, a policeman said Thursday.

Ly Toan Chan, 30, was arrested Wednesday as he was parading 23 women in front of a South Korean man and his sister, said Luu Cong Tai, the head officer on the case.

Tai said the South Korean man's passport was being held to prevent him from leaving the country and that police were recommending the local government fine him 15 million dong (847 dollars).

Police said the 44-year-old South Korean woman had come to Vietnam to help her 45-year-old brother choose a wife.

The Ho Chi Minh City Police newspaper reported that Chan had recruited the 23 women and rented a house for the parade.

Police said Chan had already been arrested once for illegal marriage brokering in late 2007 when he organized a parade of 65 Vietnamese women for five South Korean men, but Chan was released after paying a 1.5-million-dong fine.

Marriage brokers are legal in Vietnam but must be licensed by the state. Police said they lack the authority to impose criminal penalties for illegal marriage brokering.

"This is a loophole in our law, and we are petitioning the National Assembly to fix it," Tai said.

The women generally come from impoverished areas of Vietnam's Mekong Delta region and receive a payment of about 500 dollars to send to their families if chosen.

Tai said that on average, a South Korean man pays 1,000 to 3,000 dollars to a marriage broker for finding him a wife. (dpa)