What are the Current Laws Concerning Intercountry Adoption from Korea?
In the last decade or so, there have been significant changes occurring to adoption services in Korea. In July 2025, an important one will occur when adoption records that have been held by the four private agencies (Holt, Eastern, KSS and KWS) are moved to the quasi-government organisation, National Center for the Rights of the Child (NCRC) 아동권리보장원. From that point onward, services that we have relied on our agencies for, such as birth family search and access to our records will be handled by the NCRC.
This development has been seen as disruptive and scary for many. For others it is a positive move toward greater and more equal access to adoptee records, as they will no longer be “owned” by private agencies, but by a government body. It remains to be seen how the changes will impact us.
All of these developments are the result of changes to many of the laws that govern adoptions in Korea. The movement of documents from the agencies to the NCRC is also one that is mandated in the law. The agencies have not made this choice for themselves.
Read more about the laws that will affect our access below.
