｢국내입양에 관한 특별법｣ 개관 - 몇 가지 쟁점 검토를 겸하여

An Overview of the Special Act on Domestic Adoption : With a Brief Review of Selected Issues

This article analyzes the principal procedures and interpretative issues arising under the Special Act on Domestic Adoption, which is set to take effect on July 19, 2025. In contrast to the former Special Adoption Act, the new legislation confines its scope to domestic adoptions and transitions the adoption process from a private agency-based framework to a public system. It reallocates responsibilities by assigning child protection to local governments, adoption applications and home studies to the Minister of Health and Welfare, and the matching process to the Adoption Policy Committee, while abolishing the adoption agency system. The study first outlines the legislative background and guiding principles of the new Act. It then examines major amendments concerning the requirements and legal effects of adoption, as well as the corresponding child protection measures throughout each procedural stage. Particular attention is given to issues such as protective measures of adoption by local authorities, the conditions for valid consent, enhanced eligibility requirements for prospective adoptive parents, the matching procedure, the duration of adoption proceedings, the abolition of dissolution of adoption, the introduction of pre-adoptive placement decision, and the appointment of guardians for adoptable children.