‘Parents and Children Are a Heavenly Bond’ Public Official Who Reunited Mother and Son Separated for 50 Years Gains Attention

Lee Jaegum, Officer at Hwajeong 1-dong Administrative Welfare Center, Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City.

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[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Jamin] The bond between parents and children is ‘cheonryun’ (a natural bond). Even after decades of separation, nothing could prevent their reunion.

In the Gwangju area, a civil servant recently helped a parent and child who had been separated for 50 years to reunite dramatically, becoming a hot topic.

The protagonist who made this 50-year reunion possible is Officer Lee Jaegum, working at the Hwajeong 1-dong Administrative Welfare Center in Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City.

Officer Lee’s search for a lost family began because of a single line titled “I want to find my mother who I was separated from 50 years ago, but there is no way” posted recently on a community site.

As if possessed by a ghost, the mouse in his hand naturally moved toward the title, and he clicked, curious about the story.

The story of Mr. A, a man in his 50s who wrote the post, is as follows.

Mr. A was separated from his mother due to family circumstances when he was about seven months old. Later, his father passed away, and he was raised by his grandmother.

He vaguely remembers seeing his mother only once when he was in the second grade of elementary school, holding his grandmother’s hand in Pocheon, Gyeonggi Province.

As time passed and he turned 24, a daughter of his mother, his half-sister, came to him and said, “Mom wants to see you.”

Although he might have felt happy at the thought of seeing the mother he couldn’t see during his childhood, he actually disliked his mother’s words to meet only after he had grown up.

Because in a corner of Mr. A’s heart, his mother had already become almost hatred.

Perhaps that’s why he coldly told the daughter, “Let’s wait until I’m 48, as long as the time I have lived so far, and then we can meet,” and sent her away harshly.

That cold remark from Mr. A was a heartbreaking moment that distanced him from his mother so much that he didn’t even know her contact information for 26 years.

He lamented that sending away his half-sister like that was the moment he regretted the most until now.

Still, family is family. Around 26 years later, he became curious about his estranged mother’s news.

However, he did not know how to inquire or where to start.

So, in desperation, he wrote a post on a community site.

Is it true that if you are earnest, it will come true? Officer Lee, who became a ‘benefactor,’ saw the post.

Officer Lee thought there might be a way and left a comment saying, “You might be able to find her using the family register (jejeokdeungbon).” It was his first comment on the community site, even though he had only been lurking until then.

But a few days later, he received a message from Mr. A online.

The message said, “After checking the family register, it seems difficult because the records are too old, and my mother’s registered domicile is unknown, and her resident registration number is not listed.”

After that, Officer Lee kept in contact with Mr. A, receiving various documents and continuing to look for ways to find Mr. A’s mother.

Officer Lee also had limitations. He was working at the Seo-gu Office headquarters, and administratively, this was not his official duty.

Mr. A’s earnestness changed Officer Lee’s circumstances. In the personnel reshuffle in the first half of this year, he was assigned to the Administrative Welfare Center, allowing him to start the search in earnest.

On the weekend of the personnel transfer, Officer Lee headed to the office. He began inquiries based on Mr. A’s hometown, Yeonggwang-gun, Jeollanam-do, and Mr. A’s vague memories, and soon identified a woman in her 70s presumed to be the mother.

Officer Lee did not forget to find Mr. A’s mother based on the ‘Regulations on Active Administration of Local Public Officials’ within the limits of not violating the Personal Information Protection Act as much as possible.

Later, he bridged communication between both parties, and on the 16th, the mother and son who had been separated for 50 years met and were able to share their stories.

It was also happily reported that the son invited his mother to his home to prepare her first birthday table four days before the upcoming Lunar New Year, which is her birthday.

Mr. A, who found his mother after 50 years, donated 70 bags of 10kg rice each to the Hwajeong 1-dong Administrative Welfare Center where Officer Lee works on the 25th, asking that it be given to children in need.

Mr. A is known to have consistently engaged in sponsorship and sharing activities for children in difficulty, just like in his childhood.

Mr. A said, “I am just thankful that someone helped with this unfamiliar story despite their own work,” and “I will continue to live helping those in hardship.”

Officer Lee said, “I did not do this to receive praise, nor do I think it is something praiseworthy,” and “If it allowed a parent and child to share affection that they couldn’t for 50 years, that is enough.”

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