[News Today] Gov’t to oversee child adoptions

[LEAD]
Since the Korean War, nearly 170,000 children have been sent abroad for adoption.

Korea has long faced criticism for these unchecked adoptions, even being labeled a "baby exporter."

But now, the government and local authorities will take full control of the entire adoption process.

[REPORT]
This married couple decided to adopt a girl after having a hard time trying to conceive their own child.

Adoptive parent
The moment I decided to adopt her, she felt like my own child. It was heartbreaking to see her live in an orphanage.

Currently, 177 children are waiting to find new families.

The adoption rate in Korea is slowly rising, but it's still hovering around 60%.

In 2022, 142 children were adopted overseas.

In 2023 the number stood at 79.

Having the world's third largest number of international adoptions, Korea has been criticized as a "baby exporter."

Some private adoption agencies fabricated adoption papers or used child adoptions to reap profits.

Peter Moeller / Adopted to Denmark
The adoption agencies falsified documents. So I am searching for the real background information.

From now on, the state will take full responsibility for all adoption procedures.

Applications and consultations related to child adoptions will be overseen by the National Center for the Rights of the Child.

Until children find new parents, they will stay in the custody of local governments.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare will be in charge of verifying the credentials of prospective adoptive parents.

Overseas adoptions will only be conducted when no adoptive parents can be found in Korea.

Chung Young-ran / Mission to Promote Adoption in Korea
I hope the gov‘t fulfill its role as a gateway to adoptions so that prospective adoptive parents can apply for adopting children without difficulties.

The government will also take over adoption records, which are currently scattered at many different agencies.

However, there is no official stack room for storing them, pointing to the urgent need to establish an archive as soon as possible.