Adoption reform in South Korea as though children mattered

Posted on : 2009-11-16 13:23 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Adoptees and unwed mothers work with DP lawmakers to author a parallel bill intended to ensure a responsible legislative-reform process
 Nov. 10.
Nov. 10.

Democratic Party (DP) Lawmaker Choi Young-hee is sponsoring a bill to amend the Special Act Relating to the Promotion and Procedure of Adoption that has been co-authored by a coalition of adoptees and public interest groups and recently submitted to the National Assembly. Efforts by this coalition comprised of the Truth and Reconciliation for the Adoption Community of Korea (TRACK), the Adoptee Solidarity Network (ASK), KoRoot, Gong-gam, a Korean public interest lawyers’ group, and Miss Mamma Mia, the nation’s first single and unwed mothers’ organization, have been gaining the attention of press in country’s responsible for South Korea’s intercountry adoption placements, including the U.S. via the New York Times. The coalition held a public hearing on Nov. 10 at the National Assembly on their bill for adoption law reform that some anticipate would be presented for deliberation and a vote in the spring 2010 plenary session.

Current domestic and intercountry adoption practices are framed in the Special Act Relating to Adoption Promotion and Procedure, which is based on the Special Act on Adoption of Orphans enacted in 1969, and has facilitated sending over 200,000 children to 15 countries for inter-country adoption. The adoption law has undergone nine revisions, but this historic revision marks the first time that adoptees and unwed mothers have been included in the legislative process. Today, over 90 percent of those adopted from South Korea are the children of unwed mothers.

The bill being put forward by this coalition states, “The revision proposals on the current adoption law intend to strengthen state monitoring and supervision on whether adoption procedure is carried out with a focus on the promotion of the welfare of children, and to make the law comply with the internationally-recognized principle that the best protection for children is to be cared for within their birth family and country of origin.” Representatives from the Korea Family Legal Service Center, Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, and Ministry of Health, Welfare and Family affairs were in attendance on Tuesday. One thing made clear at the forum is that in addition to the coalition members, panel members representing governmental organizations appear to have reached a consensus on the need to reform current adoption policies.

Molly Townsend, an adoptee who had been placed with a family in the U.S. and attended the hearing, said, “I hope that what we saw Tuesday is just the beginning of an open dialogue between the Korean government and members of the adoption community.” She also spoke on her realization of “how politicized adoption is and has been,” and said, “I need to readjust my conceptual framework to include the political, social, and economic factors that adoption entails.”

Baek Seung-joo, a volunteer with KoRoot said, “The government’s responsibility on the matter of Korean adoption has been far lower than I expected.” Baek added, “We have spent more than 40 years with this type of ‘Nobody Asks’ policy, and I think now is the time to take new measures.” Currently, two pieces of legislation proposing adoption law reform are being prepared in parallel and are being sponsored by the Democratic Party (DP) and a Lee administration-appointed Task Force on Adoption Law Reform, respectively.

According to analysts, the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) has been working on preparing a bill parallel to the coalition’s process based primarily on recommendations from Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs (MIHWAF) Task Forces on Adoption Reform and MIHWAF-sponsored public hearings held Feb. 26 at the Francisco Education Center and July 1 at the Korea Press Foundation Building on the formation of the “central authority” that it then opened in July. The Ministry of Finance and Budget allocated 720 million Won this year to establishing a central authority necessary for the country to ratify the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, and MIHWAF research has indicated that ratification necessitates changes to the Special Act Relating to Adoption Promotion and Procedures, which takes precedent over adoption procedures specified under the jurisdiction of the Civil Law.

Critics of the Task Force-sponsored hearings and bill-authoring process have voiced opinions on South Korea’s weakness on domestic and intercountry adoption procedures and welfare policies that fail to provide protection of the child and the child’s birth family, lack of conformity with international standards that include pre-adoption counseling and education, and lax monitoring of adoption agencies’ obligations and provision of post-adoption services. Each of these issues is being addressed in the DP-sponsored bill as areas of reform, and in Aug., Lawyer So RaMi of Gong-gam had been asked to join the Task Force on Adoption Law Reform.

According to TRACK President Jane Jeong Trenka, while So’s appointment is a major victory, the legislation being prepared with DP sponsorship represents “the ideal situation” for adoption law reform. Analysts say that as adoptees and unwed mothers insert themselves into the legislative process they are building in greater accountability to the bill being authored by the administration’s Task Force. Speaking on her role, So RaMi said, “The government now has the will to change or create a new adoption law, and in so doing, listen to what adoptees are saying.” She clarified however, “One important area of concern that remains is in the details, and there may be some differences in ideas between adoptees and lawmakers, and among those in government.”

Jenny Na, co-founder of ASK in response to a question about her hopes for the outcome of this legislation revision process, said, “The government should really pause to try to consider what it means for a prospective birth mother who is concerned about the welfare of her child, and what it means for an adopted person to release their rights to their family, and that those are kept intact.” 

 It remains to be seen how many of the changes proposed in the coalition’s bill are adopted into the legislation submitted by the administration’s Task Force in Dec., and presented by the GNP for a vote in the National Assembly.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]

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