249 Deaths and 814 Investigations... Government Announces Protection Measures for Unregistered Birth Children (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

An investigation revealed that out of 2,123 unregistered birth children, 249 have died. There are 1,095 children whose survival or death status could not be confirmed, and the police have launched investigations into 814 children. The government has stated its intention to quickly fix the system to prevent such incidents from recurring.

On the 18th, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced the results of a full survey of 2,123 children who had birth records but were not registered. The subjects of the survey were unregistered newborns born between 2015 and last year who only had temporary newborn numbers. The investigation began on the 28th of last month after the issue of unregistered birth children being a blind spot in child protection was revealed during an audit by the Board of Audit and Inspection. The problem escalated after incidents such as the 'Suwon Refrigerator Infant Murder Case' were confirmed.

Local governments confirmed that 222 children had died. The local governments verified this through death reports, death certificates, or postmortem examination reports. Twenty-seven deceased children were identified during the process of requesting police investigations due to inability to confirm their whereabouts. Among them, seven guardians of deceased children were found to have criminal charges and were referred to the prosecution.

More than half (51.6%) of the children’s whereabouts could not be identified by local governments. Among them, the largest group was 601 children (54.9%) abandoned in baby boxes, followed by 232 children (21.2%) whose guardians were unreachable or refused visits. Next were children adopted before birth registration (89), denial of birth (72), and others such as inability to submit documents (101).

Local governments confirmed that 771 children were alive. Of these, 704 had completed birth registration, 21 had overseas birth registrations, and 46 were scheduled for birth registration. It was confirmed that these children’s parents had issues such as litigation over marital status or that unmarried mothers felt burdened by birth registration.

Among the birth-registered children, 378 (49.0%) were living at home. Children adopted or placed in facilities numbered 354 (45.9%), and 27 children (3.5%) were being raised by relatives. Twelve children (1.6%) fell under other cases such as foster care.

During the investigation, the Ministry of Health and Welfare supported linking welfare services for 45 cases experiencing economic difficulties. Support for birth registration compliance was provided in 43 cases.

The age of guardians at the time of childbirth for the children surveyed was mostly in their 30s or older, accounting for 1,027 (48.4%). Those in their 20s were 866 (40.8%), and teenagers numbered 230 (10.8%).

The government plans to quickly improve the system as it was insufficient in detecting unregistered birth children. Children remaining with temporary newborn numbers in the Integrated Vaccination Management System will be periodically investigated, and children monitored only by social welfare electronic management numbers will also have their birth registration and whereabouts verified. For children with foreign guardians, the Ministry of Justice will check foreigner registration and departure status, and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety will operate an unregistered birth child reporting period during resident registration fact-finding investigations.

Lee Gi-il, the first vice minister of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said, "This full survey revealed that blind spots exist in the protection of unregistered birth children. We will support the safe growth of all children born through the legalization of protective birth systems and the preparation of support measures for single parents and other pregnant women in crisis."

Meanwhile, the number of unregistered infants is expected to continue increasing. The police stated that even after the government’s full survey ends, they will begin investigations as reports come in.

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