Under the National Responsibility System Inevitable Overseas Adoption by the Government in Consultation with Overseas Authorities
The Lee Jae-myung government will push for a phased suspension of overseas adoption. The government plans to prioritize protection of domestic children such as domestic adoption, and suspend overseas adoption in the mid- to long-term.
On the 26th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare confirmed the 3rd Basic Plan for Child Policy (2025-2029) after deliberation and resolution by the Child Policy Coordination Committee, chaired by the Prime Minister.
The Basic Plan for Child Policy is a pan-governmental plan established every five years in accordance with the Child Welfare Act. The third plan is the Lee Jae-myung administration's children's policy blueprint.
Earlier in October, President Lee Jae-myung said, "The Republic of Korea was once shameful as a 'child exporting country,'" adding, "The state will be a strong fence for adoptees."
The government has been pushing for a system in which the state is responsible for managing and supervising adoption, which has been led by private adoption agencies.
In July this year, it introduced a "public adoption system" managed by the state and local governments, and in October, it ratified the "Hague International Convention on Adoption of Children," an international agreement adopted to protect the human rights of children moving through the country through international adoption.
Accordingly, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, local governments, and public institutions will decide and manage the overall adoption process by considering the interests of children as the top priority.
In the mid- to long-term, the Ministry of Health and Welfare plans to proceed with the process in mutual consultation with overseas authorities and related organizations as central authorities when they inevitably adopt overseas.
The family consignment system, in which children under protection grow up at home for a certain period of time, will also be reorganized into a system that allows the state to take responsibility and manage it.
It plans to strengthen the institutional foundation and responsibility for raising children by recognizing foster families as a new family form and strengthening the legal authority of foster parents.
In addition, protective resources such as home consignment, adopted families, and child care facilities are constantly checked at the metropolitan level so that children can receive appropriate protection from the initial stage of protection. It supports the original family return program so that the original family can return without letting go of the bond with their parents.
An in-depth analysis will be promoted for suspected child abuse deaths. To this end, a special committee on child abuse death analysis (tentative name) will be established under the Child Policy Coordination Committee.
It will also consider introducing a system that examines the causes of all child deaths, including abuse.
Unregistered foreign children are granted the status of staying in Korea until March 2028 to guarantee their right to education. In addition, the introduction of a universal birth registration system is considered through a survey on the actual conditions of unregistered foreign children.