Poor Management of Newborn Data in South Korea: Consequences and Failures in Child Protection

2023-12-06 20:01:17
Illustration = Lee Cheol-won

It was confirmed on the 6th that the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency had managed newborn data poorly, including that one woman was recorded as having given birth to over 100 babies. Since 2010, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency has been receiving temporary newborn numbers from hospitals when a child is born, including her date of birth and gender. This information is stored and managed in the internal computer system. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s work guidelines also include checking whether these babies were actually registered as births.

However, when the Ministry of Health and Welfare recently investigated the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s newborn information, it is said that a large number of data were confirmed showing that one woman gave birth to anywhere from dozens to over 100 babies. It is said that the ‘100 women who gave birth’ were not actual mothers but directors of child protection facilities. An official from a child protection agency in Seoul said, “The fact that the inadequate newborn information has been left uncorrected means that the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency did not manage the newborn information and did not properly check whether the newborn was registered at birth,” and “It is a dereliction of duty.” Even within the government, there is a saying that “the structure was bound to produce a large number of ‘unregistered children’ who were unable to receive legal protection because their births were not registered.”

Last June, the Board of Audit and Inspection announced the results of an audit that “among children born between 2015 and 2022, there are 2,123 children who have a temporary newborn number but do not have a resident number.” This means that there are 2,123 unregistered children who were born in hospitals, but whose parents did not register their birth, making it impossible to know where and what they are doing. Unregistered children are defenselessly exposed to crime because they do not receive legal protection and welfare benefits. In fact, among these 2,123 children, there were a baby who was murdered by his parents in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province and found in a refrigerator at home, and a baby who died in Geoje, Gyeongnam Province and was abandoned in the mountains.

Then, only last October, the Ministry of Health and Welfare began to check the status of children born between 2010 and 2014 who were born before the audit period of the Board of Audit and Inspection (born between 2015 and 2022) and who had only temporary newborn numbers and no resident registration numbers. As a result, it was confirmed that there were 9,603 unregistered children born in hospitals who had a newborn number but did not have a resident registration number because their birth was not registered. Although it was 3 years shorter than the Board of Audit and Inspection’s investigation period (8 years), the number of unregistered children was 4.5 times higher.

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The Ministry of Health and Welfare immediately began a full-scale investigation to determine the whereabouts of these 9,603 children and whether they were alive or dead. Immediately after this, it was said that ‘100 women giving birth’ and ‘dozens of women giving birth’ were discovered in data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. There is talk inside and outside the government of “comprehensive poor management” and “there could be a large number of children who die.” Among the unregistered children discovered during the audit period of the Board of Audit and Inspection, the death rate (249) was 11.7%. Assuming there are deaths at a similar rate, this survey could result in about 1,100 deaths. An official from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said, “It is true that there was some inaccurate newborn data,” but added, “The results of the government’s comprehensive investigation will be announced soon.”

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