MOHW, National Archives of Korea, and NCRC Sign Agreement on Preservation of Adoption Records

- Agreement opens the path for preserving adoption records in specialized archival facilities -

The Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW, Minister Jeong Eun Kyeong), the National Archives of Korea (President Lee Yong-chul), and the National Center for the Rights of the Child (NCRC, President Chung Ick-joong) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on Friday, October 10, at 4:30 p.m. at the Seongnam Branch of the National Archives of Korea to ensure the secure preservation and systematic management of adoption records. 

The agreement was initiated to establish a national-level specialized management system that ensures the secure and systematic preservation of adoption records, which were transferred to the NCRC following the July 19 enforcement of the government-led adoption system. Prior to this, the National Archives inspected storage conditions at the temporary facility in Goyang, where the records had been kept. Based on those inspections and subsequent discussions among the institutions, a cooperative framework was developed.

Under the MOU, the parties agreed to: entrust adoption records under the custody of the NCRC to the Seongnam Branch repository of the National Archives; provide archival space to enable seamless access to and information services for the entrusted records; and establish a cooperative framework for the development and operation of preservation facilities and equipment for adoption records.

This agreement is expected to address concerns about the security of records currently stored in temporary facilities and to ensure their preservation under a specialized archival management system.

Following the signing, the institutions will hold working-level consultations to finalize the details necessary for implementing the agreement.

Lee Seuran, 1st Vice Minister of Health and Welfare, stated, “Adoption records are a precious asset that must be securely managed by the state to help adoptees establish their identity and trace their roots. The MOHW will work with the National Archives to build a reliable preservation system and safeguard the rights of adoptees.”

Lee Yong-chul, President of the National Archives of Korea, noted, “As the institution responsible for preserving and managing national records, we recognize both the importance of adoption records and the need for their preservation through national-level cooperation. We will provide strong support to ensure these records are securely preserved in specialized archival facilities, thereby strengthening public trust in their management.”

Chung Ick-joong, President of the NCRC, added, “Through this agreement, we will ensure that adoption records are more securely preserved and more systematically managed at a specialized national archival facility, enabling adoptees to trace their roots at any time while providing reliable, high-quality information services.”

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