Where can I find all the Korean laws pertaining to family, children and adoption translated into English?

Answer 1

Please only work through the US Department of State. My brother was swindled by one of these web sites. Remember, if it sounds to easy or too good to be true, you will lose money and end up with a broken heart.

KOREA, REPUBLIC OF
Disclaimer: The following is intended as a very general guide to assist U.S. citizens who plan to adopt a child from a foreign country and apply for an immigrant visa for the child to come to the United States. Two sets of laws are particularly relevant: 1) the laws of the child’s country of birth govern all activity in that country including the adoptability of individual children as well as the adoption of children in country in general; and 2) U.S. Federal immigration law governs the immigration of the child to the United States.
The information in this flyer relating to the legal requirements of specific foreign countries is based on public sources and our current understanding. It does not necessarily reflect the actual state of the laws of a child’s country of birth and is provided for general information only. Moreover, U.S. immigration law, including regulations and interpretation, changes from time to time. This flyer reflects our current understanding of the law as of this date and is not legally authoritative. Questions involving foreign and U.S. immigration laws and legal interpretation should be addressed respectively to qualified foreign or U.S. legal counsel.


PLEASE NOTE: The Republic of Korea’s special adoption law No. 2977 Section 9 (A) requires the use of an adoption agency for overseas adoption of Korean orphans, and that section 10 (A) provides that such agencies must be authorized by the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs.

Prospective adoptive parents are advised to fully research any adoption agency or facilitator they plan to use for adoption services. For U.S. based agencies, it is suggested that prospective adoptive parents contact the Better Business Bureau and licensing office of the Department of Health and Family Services in the state where the agency is located.

GENERAL: The following is a guide for U.S. citizens who are interested in adopting a child in Korea and applying for an immigrant visa for the child to come to the United States. This process involves complex South Korean and U.S. legal requirements. U.S. consular officers give each petition careful consideration on a case-by-case basis to ensure that the legal requirements of both countries have been met, for the protection of the prospective adoptive parent(s), the biological parents(s) and the child. Interested U.S. citizens are strongly encouraged to contact U.S. consular officials in Seoul before formalizing an adoption agreement to ensure that appropriate procedures have been followed which will make it possible for the Embassy (Consulate) to issue a U.S. immigrant visa for the child.

AVAILABILITY OF CHILDREN FOR ADOPTION: Recent U.S. immigrant visa statistics reflect the following pattern for visa issuance to orphans:

FY-1996: IR-3 immigrant visas issued to Korean orphans adopted abroad - 16
IR-4 immigrant visas issued to Korean orphans adopted in the U.S. - 1,500
FY-1997: IR-3 visas - 17, IR-4 visas - 1,640
FY-1998: IR-3 visas - 19, IR-4 visas - 1,810
FY-1999: IR-3 visas - 11, IR-4 visas - 1,996
FY-2000: IR-3 visas - 10, IR-4 visas - 1,787

KOREA ADOPTION AUTHORITY: The government office responsible for adoptions in South Korea is the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare.

KOREA ADOPTION PROCEDURES: South Korean authorities advised that the entire adoption process in Korea should be child-oriented rather than parent-oriented. This reflects the fact that there are many more interested prospective parents than there are children available for adoption.

The first step for a U.S. family is to apply to a U.S. adoption agency to conduct a home study of the prospective adoptive parents. This study can take from six months to one year. The home study examines the work, marital, financial, social, and medical history of the U.S. family. Family size, age, and income of the prospective parents are carefully considered. The prospective adoptive parent (s) should contact the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security (BCIS) nearest them to initiate the pre-processing of yet-to-be-identified child or specific child for an immigrant visa. It is important to contact BCIS very early in the process to ensure that the child you are trying to adopt will meet the requirements of U.S. immigration law to qualify for an immigrant visa.

Most Korean children adopted by U.S. citizens leave South Korea in the foster care of an U.S. adoption agency affiliated with one of the four South Korean government licensed adoption agencies. The adoptive parents in the United States then adopt the child. It is not necessary for the prospective adoptive parent (s) to travel to Korea. The adoption agency will process the case in Korea and arrange for escort and transportation of the child to the U.S.

After the child arrives in the U.S., the U.S. adoption agency follows up with the parents and child through a series of home visits at six-month intervals. The U.S. agency sends reports of the post-placement home visits to the South Korean adoption agency, which keeps the reports in the child’s permanent file. The U.S. family does not officially adopt the child until the child has been in the U.S. for one year. The U.S. adoption agency maintains a constant relationship with the child and family even after the final adoption, until the child becomes a naturalized U.S. citizen, usually two years after the child’s entry into the United States. The Korean adoption agencies’ files on adopted Korean children are maintained indefinitely. The children and their adoptive families are also encouraged to attend U.S. agency-sponsored get-togethers to maintain contact with other Korean adoptions in their community

A separate Korean regulation governs the adoption of abandoned children. This rule states that an abandoned child can only be adopted six months after the child has been registered with the Korean Children’s Fund (KCF), which maintains a central listing of all abandoned and missing children in order to help parents who are trying to locate them. Adoption of children over 18 months of age must be delayed for 12 months after registration with KCF. Attempts to obtain waivers of this waiting period have been unsuccessful to date and adoptive parents impacted by this procedural change have no recourse but to wait the additional time. This procedure does not apply to children who have been given up for adoption by a single parent or both parents.

U.S. adoption procedures: Comprehensive information regarding international adoptions by U.S. citizens is available through the State Department’s Office of Children’s Issues in the Bureau of Consular Affairs and through the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Department of Homeland Security (BCIS), and your local state’s agency or department that handles adoption.

AGE AND CIVIL STATUS REQUIREMENTS: South Korean authorities have advised the American Embassy in Seoul of the following criteria for selecting adoptive parents that have been established by the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs. These are administrative policy guidelines and not legal requirements, but local adoption agencies can be expected to follow them:

The adoptive parents must be eligible to adopt under the laws of their country or state of residence
The couple should be married for at least three years and be between the ages of 25 and 44. Korean authorities usually require that both adoptive parents in overseas adoptions be younger than 45 years old; however, they may make exceptions in some cases. The following factors may be considered when making exceptions to the age limit:
At least one parent is under 45
The adoptive parents have previously adopted a Korean orphan
The parents are willing to adopt an orphan with serious medical problems
*These factors are not official and may be applied differently depending on the circumstances of a particular case*

The adoptive couple should have no more than five children. This number includes the child or children to be adopted
The couple should not have an age difference of more than 15 years
The income of the adoptive couple should be higher than the national average of their country and sufficient to raise the child.

Answer 2

If you know the website you can get the whole webpage translated at some places online.One is the search engine Altavista.It has a translator call Babelfish.but I don't know if it translates all languages.Sometimes you can download a translation device.

Answer 3

this site tells about the laws (in general):
http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/adoption_485.html

this site tells about the laws (in specific):
http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/country/country_410.html

you can try here for adoption:
http://www.adoptkorea.com/

Answer 4

Check www.korealaw.com