Biological Mother Found on Social Media, Then Lost Contact Again
Government Assistance Blocked: "Unable to Prove Mother-Daughter Relationship"
No Obligation to Provide Child Information When Foreigners Acquire Korean Nationality
A heartbreaking story has emerged of a daughter who was separated from her Joseonjok mother 27 years ago and, after becoming an adult, struggled to find her mother only to discover that her mother had reacquired Korean nationality and changed her resident registration number, making her no longer the legal mother on official documents.
On the 26th, Yonhap News introduced the story of Mr. A (31), who lives in Seocho-gu, Seoul. Mr. A carries the painful wound of being abandoned by his Joseonjok mother, Ms. Kim, when he was about four years old. Raised by his father thereafter, Mr. A became curious about his mother’s whereabouts during middle school and obtained a family relation certificate from the community center. However, Ms. Kim’s resident registration number had already been deleted.
Although Mr. A thought his mother might have passed away or gone missing, he could not completely give up hope. He sought help from private detectives and investigation agencies but to no avail. While enduring the pain of being abandoned by his biological mother, in August last year, Mr. A accidentally found an Instagram account presumed to belong to his mother, Ms. Kim. Although he did not know his mother’s face, he sensed it was her because the account had many posts in Chinese and the ID combined the meaning of Kim’s name and her birthdate.
After confirming that the account owner worked at a department store in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Mr. A finally identified her as his biological mother after much inquiry and dramatically reunited with her. At their meeting, Ms. Kim repeatedly apologized while showing childhood photos to Mr. A. However, the joy of reunion was short-lived as Ms. Kim soon cut off contact again.
Still unable to shake his longing for his mother, Mr. A sought government assistance but encountered another obstacle. He was placed in a situation where he had to prove that Ms. Kim was indeed his biological mother. After abandoning Mr. A, Ms. Kim’s Korean nationality had been canceled, and upon reacquiring nationality, she received a new resident registration number in 2009. Consequently, on official documents, Ms. Kim was no longer recognized as Mr. A’s mother. To make matters worse, Ms. Kim remarried and had a son. Mr. A suspects that Ms. Kim may have deliberately changed her resident registration number to hide the existence of her biological daughter.
The reason for this absurd situation is that a new family relation register was created during Ms. Kim’s reacquisition of nationality. A Ministry of the Interior and Safety official explained to Yonhap News, “When reacquiring Korean nationality, a new family relation register is created, and the person is considered new, so a new resident registration number is assigned. When a new family relation register is created, it is impossible to verify whether the person previously held Korean nationality.”
It is also possible that Ms. Kim, as a foreigner, did not disclose the existence of her child during the nationality acquisition reporting process. According to the Court Administration Office, when a foreigner acquires Korean nationality, they must submit a “nationality acquisition report” or “nationality restoration report” under the Nationality Act. The report requires the names and nationalities of parents and spouse, but there is no regulation requiring the names and nationalities of children to be included.
Legal experts explain that while Ms. Kim’s resident registration process was not illegal, it could be exploited for identity laundering and other abuses.
Attorney Lee Hyun-gon (Saewol Law Office) said, “When a foreigner loses nationality and then re-enters, there is no way to verify whether it is a restoration of nationality or a new person,” adding, “It is one method of identity laundering.” He further explained, “If someone reacquires nationality without disclosing that they previously had Korean nationality, the records do not connect because there is no international method to reconcile them.”
Ultimately, Mr. A plans to resolve his issue with legal assistance. He said, “I plan to clarify the mother-daughter relationship through legal measures such as a paternity confirmation lawsuit.”
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