The South Korean government has decided to coordinate various issues related to overseas adoptees, including adoption record management, locating biological families, and nationality recovery, across multiple ministries.
On November 11, the Blue House announced that it held the first meeting of the Overseas Adoptee Committee under the Task Force on Diaspora Policy, chaired by Im Woong-soon, the second deputy director of the National Security Office. The meeting focused on discussing joint responses from relevant agencies to protect the rights of adoptees and resolve their issues. The Task Force was established to address challenges that individual ministries find difficult to tackle based on a comprehensive survey of the global diaspora community.
The committee includes representatives from the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Child Rights Protection Agency, the National Police Agency, and the Overseas Koreans Agency.
The committee was formed to comprehensively address the concerns raised by over 168,000 estimated overseas adoptees and to coordinate responses among agencies, reflecting the awareness that the distribution of related tasks across multiple ministries complicates issue resolution.
During the meeting, the committee reviewed the status of handling key issues such as adoption record management, locating biological families, nationality recovery, domestic settlement support, and identity restoration. Legal and institutional obstacles in the issue resolution process were also discussed.
The committee also examined the implementation status of recommendations from the second Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which confirmed human rights violations during the overseas adoption process and the government's inadequate management and oversight last March. The commission recommended an official apology from the state, victim compensation, and improvements to the adoption information provision system.
The government has strengthened its responsibility in overseas adoptions by ratifying the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, which took effect on October 1 of last year.
President Yoon Suk Yeol expressed his heartfelt apologies and condolences to overseas adoptees, their families, and biological families on October 2 of last year via Facebook. He has emphasized interest and support for adoptees in various forums, including a written address at the World Korean Adoptee Conference in May and during his visits to Europe and the G7 in June.
Im stated, "Starting with today's meeting, we will continuously monitor the progress of key improvement tasks and expand support to help adoptees find their roots and become a vital part of the diaspora community."
On November 11, the Blue House announced that it held the first meeting of the Overseas Adoptee Committee under the Task Force on Diaspora Policy, chaired by Im Woong-soon, the second deputy director of the National Security Office. The meeting focused on discussing joint responses from relevant agencies to protect the rights of adoptees and resolve their issues. The Task Force was established to address challenges that individual ministries find difficult to tackle based on a comprehensive survey of the global diaspora community.
The committee includes representatives from the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Child Rights Protection Agency, the National Police Agency, and the Overseas Koreans Agency.
The committee was formed to comprehensively address the concerns raised by over 168,000 estimated overseas adoptees and to coordinate responses among agencies, reflecting the awareness that the distribution of related tasks across multiple ministries complicates issue resolution.
During the meeting, the committee reviewed the status of handling key issues such as adoption record management, locating biological families, nationality recovery, domestic settlement support, and identity restoration. Legal and institutional obstacles in the issue resolution process were also discussed.
The committee also examined the implementation status of recommendations from the second Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which confirmed human rights violations during the overseas adoption process and the government's inadequate management and oversight last March. The commission recommended an official apology from the state, victim compensation, and improvements to the adoption information provision system.
The government has strengthened its responsibility in overseas adoptions by ratifying the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption, which took effect on October 1 of last year.
President Yoon Suk Yeol expressed his heartfelt apologies and condolences to overseas adoptees, their families, and biological families on October 2 of last year via Facebook. He has emphasized interest and support for adoptees in various forums, including a written address at the World Korean Adoptee Conference in May and during his visits to Europe and the G7 in June.
Im stated, "Starting with today's meeting, we will continuously monitor the progress of key improvement tasks and expand support to help adoptees find their roots and become a vital part of the diaspora community."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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