Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Zackback]

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/south-korea-baby-box-pastor-says-law-brings-064417359.html

South Korea "Baby box" pastor says new law brings more babies

SEOUL (Reuters) - A South Korean pastor who runs a "baby box" where mothers can leave unwanted infants has seen a sharp increase in the number of newborns being left there because, the pastor says, of a new law aimed at protecting the rights of children.

South Korea is trying to shed a reputation of being a source of babies for adoption by people abroad. It is encouraging domestic adoption and tightening up the process of a child's transfer from birth mother to adoptive parents.

The law that took effect in August is aimed at ensuring adoption is more transparent and makes it mandatory for parents to register newborns if they want to give them up.

But the regulation aimed at seeing more thorough records are kept, though well intentioned, has sparked a surge of undocumented babies being abandoned, said Pastor Lee Jong-rak.

"If you look at the letters that mothers leave with their babies, they say they have nowhere to go, and it's because of the new law," Lee told Reuters.

Lee, who opened his "baby box" for unwanted infants three years ago, said he had seen the number being left there shoot up from an average of five a month to 10 in August and 14 in September.

Despite the new law, Lee said he never forced mothers to provide information about the babies they leave in the box, built into the wall of his church in Nangok, a tough working-class neighborhood in the capital, Seoul.

Many of the babies abandoned in the box have physical or mental disabilities. Lee has adopted 10 of them himself and is in the process of adopting four more.

On a recent sunny afternoon, a bell rang in his church to signal a new baby had been left in the box, a boy about two weeks old wrapped in a blanket.

"In the past, babies used to be abandoned at night but nowadays babies are abandoned in the daytime as well," Lee said with a sigh.

At the moment, Lee is looking after 20 children, aged between 2 and 26, in his cramped two-storey house. Among them, his own son.

But a Ministry of Health and Welfare official questioned Lee's assertion that the new law had led to more babies being dropped in the box.

"It's hard to say there's a specific causal relationship between the law and babies being abandoned in the box," said the official, who declined to be identified.

"The sudden surge of the babies could be due to many reasons," said the official.

Lee has been criticized by some people who say his box encourages desperate mothers to give up their babies. But Lee says he will not close the box until he was sure the government can offer adequate protection for abandoned babies.

[Stan Rogers]

What is the point of this post?

[newb]

[tideout]

For what it's worth, I think there's a fair amount of criticism about Korean's not taking a lead on social matters like this. Whether it's justified or not would be another endless argument here.

I'm glad to see a heart warming story of someone standing up for something.

[Stan Rogers]

This country belongs to Koreans and as such they can deal with their social issues their way.

[tardisrider]

They need to do way instain mother> who kill thier babbys. becuse these babby cant frigth back?
it was on the news this mroing a mother in ar who had kill her three kids. they are taking the three babby back to new york too lady to rest my pary are with the father who lost his chrilden : i am truley sorry for your lots

[JustinC]

He should have a word with Madonna. Yoink! Job done

[andrewchon]

[Swampfox10mm]

Nothing like illustrating the problem here.

Korea's face is far more important than the health and welfare of a few useless babies.

Let Korea handle its own problems. It seems like the Korean pastor doing this is a Korean attempting to handle Korea's problems.

[atwood]

Good for the pastor, but I'd have to agree with the government official that it would be difficult to prove a causal relationship between the new regulations and more babies being left with the pastor.

I think criticism of the government is short-sighted. Why shouldn't the birth of a newborn be registered? Would you like to go through life without a birth certificate, without even knowing what day you were born?

[tardisrider]

[PatrickGHBusan]

So the government wishes to streamline adoption rules and make the process more transparent. This seems like a decent enough idea. As for trying to limit international adoptions, I suppose it makes some sense when you consider Korea's abysmal birth rate.

The pastor claims an explosion in babies that are abandoned.

The link is not that clear or that evident. The rise in abandoned babies could be due to economic hardship for example.

[Weigookin74]

[atwood]

[Yaya]

Funny thing is, the Phils is a far poorer country than Korea yet most Filipinas hold on to their children even if they are piss poor.

Korea Struggling.