Construction of a New "Adoption Records Center" in Gimpo By 2029.
News regarding the movement of files from Korean Adoption Agencies to the Korean Government (NCRC / The National Center for the Rights of the Child) starting in July 2025, and the construction of a new "Adoption Records Center" in Gimpo to be completed by 2029:
https://v.daum.net/v/20240708180401626
Translation of original Korean article via ChatGPT
*Please note that what the article refers to as “The Child Rights Protection Agency” is the SAME thing as NCRC / The National Center for the Rights of the Child).
“The government is pushing forward with the construction of an 'adoption records center' in Gimpo to enhance adoption services. By Seong Dohyun 2024. 7. 8. 18:04
Scheduled for completion in 2029, it will be a complex cultural space including libraries and museums. A comprehensive survey of records is also underway, with negotiations ongoing for temporary storage with Goyang City. Participants at the '2024 Adoption Records Conference' hosted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and organized by the Child Rights Protection Agency on July 8 at the Ramada Plaza Hotel in Jeju, including Director Jeong Ik-joong (first from the left) and adoption agency officials, took commemorative photos. 2024.7.8 raphael@yna.co.kr
The government is advancing the construction of an 'adoption records center' in Gimpo City, Gyeonggi Province, ahead of the implementation of amendments to the Special Adoption Law, transferring adoption records held in adoption agencies and child welfare facilities to the Child Rights Protection Agency.
At the '2024 Adoption Records Conference' held at the Ramada Plaza Hotel in Jeju on July 8, Kang Goo-min, Head of Management Support at the Child Rights Protection Agency under the Ministry of Health and Welfare, introduced the progress of the adoption records center construction.
The Child Rights Protection Agency expects service quality targeting adoptees seeking their roots to improve once the adoption records center is established, addressing the difficulty adoptees face in gathering information scattered across various institutions.
According to Kang, the Child Rights Protection Agency is pushing ahead with the construction of an adoption records center (underground 1st floor to 2nd floor above ground) on a 4,500㎡ site in Gurae-dong, Gimpo City, owned by the Ministry of Planning and Finance.
Following a recent meeting with Gimpo City earlier this year and on-site inspections completed, discussions on follow-up measures are ongoing. Agreements (MOU) with Gimpo City and Korea Asset Management Corporation (KAMCO) are also scheduled to be signed.
Kang Goo-min, Head of Management Support at the Child Rights Protection Agency, introduces the progress of the adoption records center construction at the '2024 Adoption Records Conference' held at the Ramada Plaza Hotel in Jeju. 2024.7.8 raphael@yna.co.kr
The adoption records center is planned to operate as an 'Children's Laquivium,' a complex cultural space including libraries and museums. A first floor will house offices, reading rooms, a space for reunions of adoptive families, and exhibition halls, while the second floor will be used for archives and conservation.
The Child Rights Protection Agency aims to complete architectural planning and basic implementation design by next year, targeting completion in the first half of 2029.
Approximately 30 billion won is estimated for the construction of the adoption records center.
Starting this month until November this year, the Child Rights Protection Agency will conduct a comprehensive survey of 160,000 adoption records held by eight adoption agencies including Holt Children's Welfare Association. The survey results will be used for selective prioritization of important records, planning transfer arrangements, and establishing detailed criteria for confidentiality.
Until the adoption records center is completed, temporary storage facilities will be leased from Goyang City to minimize adoptee complaints and ensure stable preservation of adoption records.
Participants take commemorative photos at the '2024 Adoption Records Conference' held at the Ramada Plaza Hotel in Jeju, hosted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and organized by the Child Rights Protection Agency. 2024.7.8 raphael@yna.co.kr
Meanwhile, Kim Ho-kyun, a researcher at the National Archives, proposed effective record management system operations and collection methods for records under the jurisdiction of the Child Rights Protection Agency, while Kwon Mi-hyun, the chief official, introduced the National Archives' viewing services and explained the use and issues regarding overseas adoption-related records.
Han Hee-jeong, a record researcher at the Korea Land and Geospatial Information Authority (LX), presented LX's record management case.
In December 2020, LX opened the first record-centered Laquivium in Gongju, Chungnam, managed records systematically, and operates a complex cultural space, including a record experience exhibition hall, for nationwide record information services.
raphael@yna.co.kr”