South Korea is set to dismantle its decades-old private adoption system in a historic shift that places full responsibility for child adoptions under public control, aiming to end what critics have long called the country’s “child export” phenomenon.
Within the next few days, the new adoption system—centered on “public control and supervision” and the “primary value of protecting children’s rights”—will come into effect, marking a turning point after more than 70 years of minimal state oversight over international adoptions.
Experts say this reform is more than an administrative change. It is a reckoning with a painful legacy: since the Korean War, more than 170,000 children have been adopted abroad under Seoul’s lax regulations.
Some studies suggest the actual number could reach 250,000, including undocumented cases, making South Korea one of the most prolific “exporters” of children globally, Asianews reported.
After the war, the South Korean government delegated adoption processes to private agencies with “minimal control” over foreign requests, according to a report by the Independent Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
The report revealed that some children were taken without maternal consent or falsely declared as war orphans. Others had their identities altered, all within what became a profit-driven system.
Many of these adoptees, now adults, have struggled to trace their biological families due to missing or incomplete records.
Only in recent years has the government begun overhauling its approach. A pivotal 2023 law—set to be implemented on July 19—transfers control of the adoption process to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
Under the new system, two separate laws will govern domestic and international adoptions: the Special Law on Domestic Adoption and the Law on International Adoption.
Both were passed by the National Assembly in 2023. The Ministry becomes the “lead authority,” while local governments and the National Center for Child Rights (NCRC) will oversee the procedures.
“From July 19, state, local governments, and the NCRC will carry out what private adoption agencies have handled until now,” the Center said in a statement. “Procedures will be based on the best interests of the child, as established by the Hague Adoption Convention.”
The NCRC will act as secretariat for the Ministry’s Adoption Policy Committee, which will evaluate compatibility between children and adoptive parents for domestic adoptions.
Courts will continue to issue final approvals and are now authorized to grant temporary custody for foster care cases. In international cases, the state becomes the “central authority,” overseeing both outbound and inbound adoptions.
Still, challenges remain. For many adoptees, the only trace of their origins is a handwritten note or a decades-old form.
While nationalization has allowed the transfer of records from private agencies to the NCRC, some documents remain unaccounted for. As of mid-2025, only four major agencies have submitted original records.
A permanent repository for adoption records is planned, but no official timeline has been given. Access to these documents remains highly restricted.
The transition to public adoption comes alongside the long-overdue ratification of the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption, which will take effect by the end of October.
Although South Korea joined the treaty in 2013, it failed to ratify it due to conflicts with domestic laws—a gap now addressed by the 2023 reforms.
Still, implementation depends on sustained political will and funding from the incoming administration following the June 3 presidential election. Many provisions require further legislative and budgetary support to become fully operational.
