Little Jung-in with a big smile before he was adopted
South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s speech on adoption at his New Year’s press conference on January 18 caused a huge controversy.
The spark for the controversy was a reporter’s question about the “little Jung-in incident” in which he was abused and killed by his adoptive parents. President Moon Jae-in said, “The adoptive parents of adopted children sometimes change their minds after adoption, so they should be allowed to cancel the adoption within a certain period of time, or if they don’t agree with the child they are adopting but still want to adopt the child, they can be allowed to change the adopted child. ……”, it sounds like a suggestion to allow adoptive parents to “abandon” their children.
The statement sparked condemnation on the internet. A petition was posted on the notice board of Cheong Wa Dae’s national petition website, asking for “an apology to the children waiting for adoption and to the adoptive parents. The petitioner pointed out that “adoption is not shopping, you can choose a child at will, and you cannot return an adopted child just because you think it is not to your liking.
Kim Ji-young, director of the Korea Alliance for Adoptive Families, said, “(The president’s comments) treat the children as dolls that can be returned at any time even after adoption, and the adoptive parents have become temporary parents who can change their children at will if they are determined to do so.
Kim (39), who has been raising her adopted daughter for five years, said, “During the adoption process, the process of the child being entrusted to the adoptive parents from the temporary adopters causes great psychological stimulation and stress to the child, and it would be unthinkable to allow the child to break the contract and abandon it so easily.
Political circles have also condemned it. Ahn Cheol-soo, a representative of the Kookmin National Party, said, “If the adoptive parents are allowed to break the contract and give up the adoption or replace the adopted child, such a rule will definitely be used to exploit the loopholes, and this is in itself a mental disregard and abuse of the child.
Former Kookmin-ri Party lawmaker Roh Hyung-won also said, “There is nothing more painful for adopted children to have their adoptive parents abandon them (after they have already lost their biological parents),” and that “President Moon must immediately withdraw his remarks and apologize for his serious misstatement.
Former Seoul mayor Oh Se-hun said, “The Xiao Jung-in incident is a child abuse issue, and only by facing the nature and seriousness of the incident can a truly effective countermeasure be formulated, and the current situation is regrettable.”
Kim Mi-ae, a member of the National Power Party, said, “Children are not dolls in stores or kittens and puppies.” Rep. Kim adopted a daughter in 2011 and is also a member of the adoptive parents.
Experts have called for a child-centered adoption system. Professor Lo Hye-lian of the Department of Social Welfare at Chongseok University said, “It is unbelievable that adoptive parents are allowed to replace or abandon children who do not agree with them,” and that “the adoption system should be made with the rights of the child in mind, not from the perspective of the adoptive parents.”
As the controversy continued to fester, Cheong Wa Dae began to step in to quell the accusations. Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kang Min-suk explained that afternoon that “the president means that we should improve the adoption system to encourage adoptions.”
The spokesperson said, “The president’s statement is to emphasize that we should improve the current system of entrusting guardianship before adoption with the consent of the adoptive parents,” and “emphasize that everything should be done for the well-being of the child.
A source from Cheong Wa Dae said that the pre-adoption guardianship system “helps the child and the prospective adoptive parents to establish a close relationship through five to six months of pre-adoption guardianship before the official adoption, and tests whether the adoptive parents are ready to establish a real adoptive relationship and a new family relationship, while providing some support and assistance”, “This system is designed to test the new family in the interest of the child and is made for the sake of the child.
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