Ways to Improve Korea’s Birth Registration System

Abstract

Under the birth registration system stipulated in the current 「Act on the Registration, etc. of Family Relationships」 (hereinafter, the ARFR), birth registration omissions or delays and false registrations, as well as the resulting abandonment, trafficking, and illegal adoption of babies, have been raised as important social issues. Thereunder, those with a duty to report births (in principle, fathers or mothers) are solely responsible for registering births. Therefore, until they register births, the government cannot identify whether babies were born or not. Hospitals simply issue birth certificates to them, not directly involved in birth registrations. Moreover, issues such as registration omissions and false registrations are legally handled after they occur, thereby causing blind spots in children’s rights mentioned above. The amendment bill of the ARFR, which contains a provision on the abolishment of the acquaintance-certified birth registration system, has recently passed the 19th National Assembly, leading us to expect that urgent issues in birth registration can be resolved. However, more fundamental solutions thereto need to be discussed and reviewed. Against this backdrop, this research study aims to examine problems in the birth registration system under the current ARFR and to seek ways to introduce a hospital-based birth notification system as a solution thereto.