'Carrying the Past, Becoming New People'... Joint Wedding Ceremony for Legal Protection Recipients

A joint wedding ceremony was held to mark a new beginning for legal protection beneficiaries who are in common-law relationships but could not hold a wedding ceremony due to financial difficulties.

On the 19th, seven couples who tied the knot at the "40th Beautiful Journey Joint Wedding Ceremony" hosted by the Korea Legal Protection Welfare Corporation Gwangju Jeonnam Branch are listening to the officiant's address.
[Photo by Min Hyun-gi]

The Gwangju-Jeonnam Branch of the Korea Legal Protection Welfare Corporation hosted the "40th Beautiful Journey Joint Wedding Ceremony" on the afternoon of the 19th at JS Wedding Convention in Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, attended by about 100 people including Lee Jong-hyuk, Chief Prosecutor of Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office, Hwang Young-gi, Chairman of the Korea Legal Protection Welfare Corporation, Ko Young-hoon, Head of the Gwangju-Jeonnam Branch, and other guests.

The event, which began with the officiation by Choi Jeong-hak, Chairman of the Gwangju-Jeonnam Branch Council of the Ministry of Justice Legal Protection Committee, included the question, "Will you devote your life to your family and love your wife?" Although the grooms were tense and stiff, they answered loudly and clearly, "Yes."

Some of them smiled as if recalling their past and envisioning a bright future, while their eyes welled up with tears.

This joint wedding ceremony was hosted by the Ministry of Justice Legal Protection Committee Gwangju-Jeonnam Branch Council and organized by the Korea Legal Protection Welfare Corporation Gwangju-Jeonnam Branch, with support from Gwangju Metropolitan City Hall, Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office, Buk-gu Office of Gwangju, JS Wedding Convention, Ganada Co., Ltd., and Gwangju Volunteer Center.

Previously, the Korea Legal Protection Welfare Corporation Gwangju-Jeonnam Branch has been holding wedding ceremonies and providing sponsorship goods every year to help legal protection beneficiaries who could not afford weddings due to financial difficulties build harmonious families and settle as healthy members of society. Since 1985, a total of 40 ceremonies have been held, supporting over 300 couples.

The groom A, who participated in the joint wedding ceremony, said, "I have been filled with regret toward my wife and family who devoted and sacrificed for me for decades. I am grateful to the Korea Legal Protection Welfare Corporation Gwangju-Jeonnam Branch for giving us a second chance to stand at a new starting point. I vow to be reborn as a new person and be faithful to my family."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.