Staff members from the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) and Chairperson Ahn, Kyong-Whan visited the Holy Family Child Adoption Center on August 16, 2007. The Commission made this visit to the adoption center in order to meet volunteer workers, observe babies waiting to be adopted and meet with the staff of the center.
There are currently 25 adoption agencies in the Republic of Korea. Five agencies specialize in the types of cases handled, while the remaining are general adoption agencies. The Holy Family Child Adoption Center is the only adoption agency in Korea that focuses on domestic adoptions. The other four specializing agencies focus on international adoptions.
In 2006, a total of 3,562 children were placed for adoption. Among them, 1,332 children were adopted by families domestically, and the other 1,899 were placed overseas. The staff of the center requested that the Commission promote domestic adoption through nationwide campaigns and advertising, in order to decrease the gap between international and domestic adoption placements.
The general meeting with staff members of the center was a chance to learn about the reality of adoptions and discuss the barriers for domestic adoptions. One of these barriers is the financial burden of adoption. Several staff members mentioned that practical assistance must be provided to families that adopt. In efforts to support adoption, a child care subsidy of 100,000won will be paid to each adoptive family per month starting this year. However, this is not sufficient to cover the costs of raising a child. Some expressed that providing a more reasonable subsidy would help increase the number of domestic adoptions.
Another issue related to the lack of domestic adoptions mentioned was societal and legal structure. For example, allowing families to modify family registries to include adopted children-with permission from the adoption agency-should be made to protect the human rights and dignity of adopted children as they grow up in Korea. These regulations should be improved to stimulate domestic adoptions, and the staff proposed a review of a policy to the Commission.
Many opinions concerning the right to health of infants accommodated in adoption facilities were presented at the meeting. In Korea, infants brought into adoption agencies are subject to temporary protection and do not have family registers. Since the infants are not part of a family registry, they cannot be issued national identification numbers, which are required for national healthcare services. Instead, they are issued facility numbers, but these numbers are incompatible with the IT systems of most hospitals. The healthcare of these children is severely limited, due to this infrastructural issue. The staff of the center expressed their wishes for a system that would guarantee the right to medical services for children waiting to be adopted, and stressed the importance of guaranteeing such a right.
There are far more children waiting to be adopted than married couples that wish to adopt. This is especially true in regards to domestic adoption in Korea. There is an even greater shortage of girls for adoption. The staff requested that the Commission work to ensure the human rights of children adopted by international marriages are not abused.
Chairperson Kyong-Whan Ahn praised the staff of the Holy Family Child Adoption Center for promoting the human rights of adopted children and expressed his deep gratitude to them. Chairperson Ahn concluded the visit by promising that the Commission would work toward finding effective solutions to the institutional problems raised by the staff.
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea was established in 2001 to promote human rights education and defend those who have experienced discrimination, or have had a right violated, in Korea. The Commission offers counseling, full investigation and protection for citizens, along with educational initiatives for organizations.
