National Assembly Fails to Prevent 'Unreported Infant Deaths'... Accelerating Birth Notification and Protective Birth System

Possibility of Passage in the Plenary Session on the 30th

The ruling and opposition parties are accelerating legislative discussions on the 'Birth Notification System,' which requires medical institutions to notify authorities of births even if parents do not register the birth, and the 'Protected Birth System,' which allows mothers in crisis to give birth anonymously. It is expected that these may be processed in the National Assembly plenary session as early as the 30th.

According to political circles on the 25th, the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee plans to set a subcommittee schedule before the full meeting on the 29th to discuss the Birth Notification System. This system mandates that medical institutions directly notify local governments of birth information to prevent the occurrence of 'unregistered children' due to parents deliberately failing to register births.

In the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, about ten proposed amendments have been pending, submitted by ruling party member Kim Mi-ae of the People Power Party and opposition member Shin Hyun-young of the Democratic Party, among others. Following this recent incident, both parties have reached a consensus on introducing the Birth Notification System, accelerating the discussions.

The National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee is discussing the 'Protected Birth System' to prevent accidents involving unregistered infants and young children. The Protected Birth System allows mothers in crisis to give birth anonymously in hospitals, with local governments providing protection for the child. Kim Mi-ae of the People Power Party introduced a special law on protected births in 2020, which is still pending in the National Assembly. This law enables economically and socially distressed pregnant women to give birth anonymously through consultations with local governments.

The ruling and opposition parties plan to hold a focused review of the special law at the Health and Welfare Committee's bill review subcommittee on the 27th.

Following the case of the murder and abandonment of an unregistered infant in Suwon City, Gyeonggi Province, the government and ruling party have shown strong determination regarding the Birth Notification System and Protected Birth System. On the 22nd, Minister of Health and Welfare Cho Kyu-hong stated at the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee plenary meeting, "The Protected Birth System is a complementary measure to the medical institution birth notification system," adding, "We hope discussions on these two bills proceed quickly and become law."

The People Power Party announced the formation of a related task force to expedite the bill's passage. Senior Spokesperson Kang Min-guk said in a statement, "The People Power Party has urgently formed a task force to develop fundamental comprehensive measures and will accelerate the legislative process for the Protected Birth System and Birth Notification System through party-government consultations to prevent risks when pregnant women give birth outside medical institutions." The Democratic Party also urged the promotion of the system, led by lawmakers who introduced the bills. On the 23rd, Shin Hyun-young held a press conference at the National Assembly calling for the prompt passage of the Birth Notification System bill and the Social Security Benefits Act.