[The Police File] Little Time Left in the Golden Hour to Eradicate 'Newborn Brokers'

Anonymous Births at Medical Institutions
Concerns Over Brokers Exploiting the "Protected Birth System"
Comprehensive Investigation Needed Before Implementation Next July

In the second quarter of this year, South Korea's total fertility rate was 0.7. This means that one woman of childbearing age (15-49 years old) is expected to give birth to 0.7 children in her lifetime. This is the lowest quarterly fertility rate since related statistics began to be compiled in 2009. The sound of a baby crying has become that rare an occurrence.

However, not every birth is celebrated. South Korea remains a global "child export country." According to international adoption statistics from the international nonprofit organization International Social Service (ISS) as of 2020, South Korea sent 266 children abroad for adoption, ranking third after Colombia and Ukraine.

Baby Box. [Image source=Yonhap News]

From 2015 to last year, 1,418 babies were placed in the "Baby Box" operated by the Jusarang Community. It is estimated that 100 to 200 newborns are born outside hospitals each year, making it difficult to even record their births. Over the past decade (2012-2022), there were 85 cases of infant homicide and 1,185 cases of infant abandonment reported to the police. On the 4th of this month, a woman in her 40s was arrested for throwing her newborn daughter, born in a motel, out of a window, causing the baby's death. News about "heartless parents" is no longer unfamiliar in our society.

Newborn human trafficking brokers have exploited this shadow. Brokers approach birth mothers who find it difficult to raise their babies, buy the infants with money, and then sell them at a premium to those who cannot go through formal adoption procedures. Formal adoption procedures involve multiple verification processes to ensure that adoptive parents can properly raise the child, including assessments of economic status, mental health history, criminal records, and personality evaluations. However, newborn sales through brokers lack even the minimum safeguards to protect the child's future. To brokers, newborns are merely a means to make money.

The reality of newborn trafficking uncovered by our investigation is truly distressing. A broker in their 20s arrested this year in Incheon bought newborns from unmarried mothers for 980,000 won and sold them to other women seeking adoption for 3 million won. The woman in her 50s who bought a newborn through this broker abandoned the child in a Baby Box because she could not register the birth. The broker involved in the "newborn swap" case in Daegu last March had two previous records of newborn trafficking. There is no way to know where or how these children are living now. Most newborn trafficking transactions are conducted in cash, making them difficult to prove. From 2018 to last year, only nine people were arrested by the police on charges of child trafficking. The government has not conducted any comprehensive investigations into the situation so far.

Meanwhile, time is passing. On the 6th, the National Assembly passed a bill introducing the "Protected Birth System," which allows mothers to give birth anonymously at medical institutions. With the introduction of the "Birth Notification System," which mandates medical institutions to report births to local governments, the aim is to prevent mothers with unwanted pregnancies from giving birth outside hospitals. While this is intended to protect mothers with unavoidable circumstances, there is a risk that newborn trafficking brokers may exploit this system.

Before the system takes effect in July next year, the police, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Ministry of Health and Welfare, and other related agencies must jointly conduct investigations into newborn trafficking and plan special crackdowns on brokers. It is essential to send a clear message that newborn trafficking will be detected and severely punished. There can be no disagreement on eradicating brokers who exploit precious new lives as a means of making money. Now is the last "golden time" to protect the future of these children.

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