Children bear cost of adoption delays, advocate says

Children awaiting adoption in Korea are losing precious time to form bonds with permanent families as lengthy reviews and unclear screening standards delay placements, the head of an adoptive families’ advocacy group said. In an interview with The Korea Times after a press conference Tuesday outside the Board of Audit and Inspection in central Seoul, Oh Chang-hwa, head of the National Adoptive Family Federation, called for faster adoption matching and transparent assessment standards. “Children are there and parents are there. But they cannot meet,” he said. His organizations and six other civic groups submitted a petition asking the state auditor to inspect the screening and matching procedures under the new adoption system, which took effect on July 19, 2025, shifting responsibility for adoption procedures from private agencies to the central and local governments. Their complaints center on administrative delays, allegedly inconsistent screening and excessive collection of sensitive family information. According to figures submitted to the National Assembly and cited by the fede