Child Rights Protection Agency Renamed "National Child Rights Protection Agency" to Strengthen "State Responsibility"

February 3, President Jeong Ikjung Holds New Year Press Briefing
"We Will Serve as the Central Institution for Child-Related Policies and Programs"

From May, the Child Rights Protection Agency will change its name to the National Child Rights Protection Agency. The change reflects its intention to strengthen the state's responsibility for children and to play a more accountable role as the dedicated institution in charge of child-related policies and programs.

Jung Ikjung, President of the Child Rights Promotion Agency, is being interviewed by The Asia Business Daily at his office in Jung-gu, Seoul. Jo Yongjun, Reporter

On February 3, Jeong Ikjung, President of the Child Rights Protection Agency, announced the main policy directions for 2026, including these changes, at a New Year press briefing held in the main conference room of the Agency in Jung-gu, Seoul. Adding the word "National" to the name is an institutional declaration that clearly signals to the outside world the level of national attention being paid to children.

He also stated that the public nature and accountability of adoption records will be strengthened. The Agency plans to transfer approximately 240,000 volumes of adoption records to the National Archives of Korea, thereby establishing a system in which adoption records are managed under the responsibility of the state. Through this, it intends to enhance trust in the overall adoption system.

Regarding child abuse, the Agency will introduce a "suspected child abuse death analysis" system to conduct in-depth analyses of the causes and structures of fatal incidents. By doing so, it plans to create effective prevention policies and to build a state responsibility system that feeds back into policy improvements.

The "continuity" of child development support will also be strengthened. Children receiving family-based care will be included as Dream Start case management beneficiaries so that early identification and necessary support can be provided in an integrated manner. When Dream Start support ends as the child reaches the age of 12, support will continue by linking them to the youth safety net of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.

The system will also be supplemented to fill gaps in the rights of children in need of protection. For children in foster care, foster parents will be granted "limited legal guardianship" so that the children's rights are not delayed, and the savings-based Didim Seed Account program will be expanded to enhance children's asset management capabilities.

Through these forms of support, the Agency aims to establish a protection system that leaves no gaps throughout the entire life cycle of a child.

On the same day, the Child Rights Protection Agency also released the results of an online vote conducted from January 22 to 29 among 4,705 members of the public on 13 areas and 26 achievements of major child policies and programs pursued over the past three years. When asked to select up to three of the top 10 policies that people felt had the greatest impact, the results showed: integrated self-reliance support for young people preparing for independence (8.5%), child care support (7.0%), in-home recovery support through home visits to prevent re-abuse of children (6.6%), establishment of a medical and psychological support system for child abuse victims (6.2%), and a full-scale shift to a state-responsible adoption system (6.1%), ranking first through fifth.

President Jeong said, "Without continuous monitoring of whether children's present lives are safe and whether the necessary protection is being provided without gaps, child policy can only remain at the level of declarations," adding, "I ask for the warm interest and advice of the public so that a society for children can be created not 'automatically' but through our 'collective' efforts."

Taking the announcement of these voting results as a starting point, the Child Rights Protection Agency plans to continue supplementing and improving policies by reflecting public opinion, thereby fulfilling its responsibility as the central institution for child policy.

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