Dobong-gu's Efforts to Help Elderly Resident Without Registration for 70 Years Obtain Resident Registration?

[Seoul District News] Dobong-gu Discovers Mr. A, Lifelong Without Registration, During COVID-19 Support Fund Application; District Office, with Banghak 2-dong's Help, Filed Family Court Petition for Name and Origin Registration in December; Resident Registration Application Submitted Early This Month

An employee in charge of resident registration at the Banghak 2-dong Community Service Center in Dobong-gu is registering Mr. A's (left) fingerprint.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Dobong-gu (Mayor Oh Eon-seok) announced that Mr. A, who had lived without official registration for over 70 years, newly registered his family relationship record in early September and was issued a resident registration card.

Mr. A, residing in Banghak 2-dong, Dobong-gu, was discovered as an unregistered person during a consultation for applying for the COVID-19 National Support Fund in October last year. A neighbor accompanied Mr. A to the community center to apply for the support fund and found out that Mr. A did not have a resident registration number.

Mr. A grew up in an orphanage without knowing who his biological parents were and was adopted by a Chinese-Korean couple, leaving the orphanage and growing up. Later, he left his adoptive parents and worked as a housekeeper in various places. Decades ago, he met Mr. B, with whom he is currently in a de facto marital relationship, and began raising Mr. B’s young children while living together.

Several years ago, Mr. A attempted to establish family relationship registration with the help of his de facto spouse and children, but due to his old age and inability to even remember the name of the orphanage, he faced difficulties preparing the necessary documents and gave up.

Upon hearing this story, Dobong-gu rolled up its sleeves to help Mr. A. The most urgent issue was the establishment of surname and origin and the application for family relationship registration. The district office conducted multiple consultations to revive Mr. A’s faint memories, prepared basic data, found a guarantor who could verify his identity, and requested legal advice and litigation support from lawyers affiliated with the Seoul Social Welfare Public Interest Law Center.

There were difficulties as well. During the support process for Mr. A, Mr. B, who was about to be admitted to a nursing hospital due to worsening dementia symptoms, suddenly ran away after an argument with Mr. A. Dobong-gu staff cooperated with the police and fortunately found Mr. B. To ensure his safety until the day of admission to the nursing hospital, community center staff stayed overnight with him at a nearby motel, showing active efforts.

As a result of these painstaking efforts, with the help of the district office and Banghak 2-dong, Mr. A submitted an application for permission to establish surname and origin at the family court in December last year, completed administrative procedures such as visiting related institutions (police station, civil affairs department) to supplement documents, and finally applied for the issuance of a resident registration card in early September.

Before the resident registration number was assigned, the district proactively provided Mr. A with a social welfare electronic management number from January this year so that he could be protected as a recipient of the National Basic Livelihood Security, starting tailored welfare support such as living expenses and basic pension.

Mr. A expressed his gratitude, saying, "For over 70 years, even when I was sick, I couldn’t go to the hospital, couldn’t receive education, and lived as if I didn’t exist. I would like to thank the Dobong-gu staff who have cared for me more attentively than family in every way."

Jung Sang-gu, officer of the Banghak 2-dong Integrated Welfare Team, stated, "After obtaining his resident registration, we plan to continue providing customized support so that Mr. A can leave the basement room where he currently lives, find a comfortable home, and become a healthy member of society."

Oh Eon-seok, Mayor of Dobong-gu, said, "After a long journey of over 70 years, he has finally become a citizen of Dobong-gu. We will support him so that he can spend the rest of his life comfortably by monitoring and assisting welfare support through the responsible departments."