[News Today] Foreign mothers struggle to register children

[LEAD]
More foreign women are coming to Korea on student or work visas, but some face a harsh reality after giving birth.

When Korean fathers refuse to acknowledge their children, babies are left without birth registration, citizenship, or basic social protection.

[REPORT]
Ha-yun was born nine months ago.

She has a Korean name and a Korean father, but no official record of her birth.

Vietnamese student in Korea
I worked part-time in Siheung when I was in college.
About a year later, I met my baby's father.

The Korean boyfriend of this Vietnamese woman, who is studying in Korea, said he didn't want the child and disappeared.

Lee Eun-hye / Lawyer, Asia Chang
Acknowledgment is needed to give a child a legal father.
When he acknowledges his child, there are no problems.
But many fathers refuse to do that.

Without acknowledgment from the biological father, it is difficult for the child to receive citizenship and social security benefits, such as national health insurance.

Heo Min-sook / Nat'l Assembly Research Service
Single foreign mothers in a foreign country have an unstable residency status themselves. It's a social phenomenon similar to Kopino.

Four years ago, the National Human Rights Commission recommended revising the relevant regulations to give single foreign mothers a more stable residency status, but nothing has changed.

Lee Young-ah / Gyeonggi Counseling Center for Migrant Women
Emergency livelihood support and basic welfare benefits are mostly for Koreans.

More than 144,000 children of foreign residents born in Korea do not have Korean nationality.

If children who are not counted in official statistics are included, the number is presumed to be around 300,000.

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