Yonhap News:
“Is the 'Adoption Tragedy' Coming to an End? S. Korea to Shift from Private to State Adoption System Starting July 19.”

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Is the 'Adoption Tragedy' Coming to an End? South Korea to Shift from Private to State Adoption System Starting July 19

By Kim Da-hye | July 17, 2025, 12:02 PM

Starting July 19, South Korea will fully transition its adoption system from a private-sector-led process to one managed and overseen by the state and local governments.

This marks a significant shift aimed at overhauling the flawed verification, matching, and post-adoption management systems that have led to various human rights violations and earned South Korea a reputation as a “child-exporting country.”

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare on the 17th, the newly revised "Special Act on Domestic Adoption" and the newly established "Act on Intercountry Adoption"—both originally announced in July 2023—will officially go into effect on July 19, following a two-year preparation period. This move comes 12 years after Korea joined the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption in 2013.

These two laws transfer all adoption-related procedures—from decision-making to post-adoption management—from private agencies to national and local governments. They also aim to curb indiscriminate overseas adoptions.

Previously, private agencies handled the entire adoption process: counseling biological parents, selecting children for adoption, providing temporary care, screening and training adoptive parents, matching children with families, and post-adoption follow-up. Apart from the final court approval from a family court, there was virtually no public oversight.

While some children found loving homes, others went missing and were misrepresented as orphans to be adopted abroad. There were also cases of children adopted by unqualified parents and instances where birth and adoption records were lost.

In March, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission revealed that at least 56 people had suffered human rights violations in the overseas adoption process between the 1960s and 1990s, and called on the government to issue a formal apology.

In response, a new public adoption system has been introduced, with the national and local governments now fully responsible for all stages of the adoption process.

Under the new system:

  • Local governments will be in charge of selecting and caring for children eligible for adoption.

  • The Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Adoption Policy Committee will assess prospective adoptive parents and make matching decisions based on the best interests of the child.

  • The National Center for the Rights of the Child will manage the intake and education of adoptive parents.

  • The Ministry will determine parent eligibility based on investigations by a designated agency (Korea Social Welfare Society).

The mayors and local administrators responsible for the child’s place of residence must ensure the child is placed in a suitable household or facility and act as legal guardians until the adoption is finalized. They will also conduct quarterly follow-ups.

Once a child is matched, prospective adoptive parents can apply directly to the family court for adoption approval. A new system allows for temporary custody arrangements to promote early bonding and adaptation.

Post-adoption, the Ministry’s designated agency and local governments will conduct one year of regular counseling and monitoring.

International adoption will now only be allowed when no suitable domestic adoptive family can be found and when it is in the child’s best interest, in accordance with the Hague Convention.

The Ministry will carefully manage international adoption decisions, verify adoptive parents’ eligibility, and consult with the receiving countries. After a court approves the adoption and the child is sent abroad, the Ministry will receive adaptation reports from the receiving country for a year.

For adopting foreign children into Korea, a new procedure has also been established. Previously, only family court approval under civil law was required. Now, the process will involve an application through the National Center for the Rights of the Child, a home study by the Ministry, information-sharing with the child’s home country, and a year of follow-up checks.

For countries party to the Hague Convention, adoptions are mutually recognized. If an adoption is finalized in the child’s country of origin, only a notification is required in Korea.

International adoptions involving stepchildren or other special cases must also follow the new international adoption law.

To strengthen adoptees’ right to know their origins, all adoption records and related information will be managed and disclosed by the National Center for the Rights of the Child.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare stated, “This reform is aimed at ensuring the safety and rights of adopted children,” adding that “it’s a significant step in fulfilling the obligations of the Hague Adoption Convention.”

Contact: moment@yna.co.kr
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