Hanoi  - Police in Ho Chi Minh City have broken up an illegal marriage brokerage that matched Vietnamese women and South Korean men, Vietnamese press reported Wednesday.

Police Monday raided a house where a marriage broker was parading 31 Vietnamese women before two South Korean men and arrested three people, Huynh Van Khai, Nguyen Van Hoa and Do Thi Kim Van, on charges of organizing the presentation.

When the police appeared, the 31 women were jammed into a tiny 20-square-metre house that served as an office for the illegal marriage agency.

The two South Korean men, identified as Lee Won Ju, 38, and Choi Dark Lym, 61, were detained for questioning.

Police said Khai was the brokerage's manager, while Hoa transported women to the location, and Van acted as a translator.

Khai had reportedly organized matches for at least 10 South Korean men since starting his business in 2008. He recruited women from impoverished areas of Vietnam's Mekong Delta region.

Police said Lee had asked Choi, who had experience with the match-making system, to help him find a Vietnamese wife and gave him 1,0000 dollars for making arrangements.

"There are no regulations for sending match-makers into prison," said Mai Van Tan, director of Ho Chi Minh City's Department of Social Order Crime Investigations. "We can only temporarily arrest them, fine them according to the government's administrative punishment decree, and then release them."

Match-makers have to be officially licensed in Vietnam. Fines for violation run to several hundred dollars.

In recent years, Vietnamese brides have become popular in Taiwan and South Korea. South Korean statistics show there are over 20,000 Vietnamese wives residing in the country.

Domestic violence against Vietnamese brides abroad has become a public issue in Vietnam. Vietnam's Women's Union says "most" Vietnamese arranged brides become alienated due to language barriers and a lack of cultural understanding.

Last year, two young Vietnamese women in South Korea died as a result of mistreatment by their husbands. (dpa)