Board of Audit and Inspection: "2,236 Unreported Births... 23 Under Intensive Investigation, 3 Deceased"

Focused Review on Cases with Birth Records but No Birth Registration
Raising Children as Unregistered Outside the System... Survival Status Not Properly Verified
Hwaseong City and Additional Investigation Cases Released... Under Investigation by Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency

Among the 23 individuals with birth records but no birth registration, 3 have already died and 1 has been abandoned. This is the result of a focused investigation by the Board of Audit and Inspection on some children whose births were not registered. Among the deceased, 2 were cases in Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, where the biological mother killed the newborn immediately after birth and stored the body in a refrigerator.

On the 22nd, the Board of Audit and Inspection announced that, as a result of a regular audit of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, there are 2,236 children who exist only under 'temporary newborn numbers' because their births were recorded but not registered.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

By region, Gyeonggi-do had the highest number with 641, followed by Seoul with 470, Incheon 157, Gyeongnam 122, Jeonnam 98, Gyeongbuk 98, Chungnam 97, and Busan 94.

The Board of Audit and Inspection selected 23 children for investigation based on risk factors such as school-age children without birth registration, cases where guardians refused contact without valid reasons, and cases where one guardian failed to register the births of two or more children. They confirmed the status of these children together with local governments.

As a result, most of these children were excluded from welfare services such as essential vaccinations, child allowances, and childcare support, and were being raised as unregistered individuals outside the system, exposed to risks such as crime, with their survival status not properly confirmed. Notably, among the 3 deceased, one died from malnutrition according to the audit, and the other two were revealed on the 21st to have been killed immediately after birth by their biological mother in Jangan-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, with their bodies stored in a refrigerator.

The Board of Audit and Inspection stated, "The investigation of the 23 children selected as samples is still ongoing, and we are cooperating with local governments and investigative authorities to confirm their whereabouts and safety." They also explained that in the case of children being investigated together with Hwaseong-si, suspicious circumstances were found, such as the guardian stating that the child was handed over to an 'anonymous third party,' and that the Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency has filed criminal charges for violation of the Child Welfare Act (abandonment) and is currently investigating.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.