KLRI : KOREA LEGISLATION RESEARCH INSTITUTE

Ⅰ. Background and purpose

○ In February 2019, the government reoriented its child policy from “a family nurturing to a family-society nurturing policy” and announced the introduction of the child state responsibility system, which is designed to strengthen the public function of the state regarding children’s welfare based on the need to “strengthen social inclusion through universal welfare and to guarantee equal opportunities for children’s development and growth, irrespective of the environment in which children grow up, by strengthening the public nature of the child protection system.”

○ In particular, as a series of serious cases of child abuse came to light in 2020, there were strong calls to strengthen the national responsibility for children in need of protection based on a full review of the child protection system.

○ Concerning the legislative system for children which the need to strengthen the public function of the state has been raised, it has insufficient welfare services regardless of the subject of the request is the state or society, are not systematically separated by implementing entities, or have not been properly supported by the system. This study is focused on rationalizing the support system by continuously expanding the roles and responsibilities of the state to provide integrated support from a child-centered perspective, and establishing the necessary legal basis.

○ The state responsibility system for children is not simply a policy slogan, but rather refers to the responsibility and practical guarantee of the state to play a leading role in promoting the growth and health of, and establishing the foundation for, future generations.

○ Therefore, in order to respond to future population changes and to achieve sustainable national development, this study recommends that the state responsibility system for children should be newly established as a practical goal to be realized through legislation, and to that end presents the theoretical basis and measures for improving the legislative system.

○ Furthermore, in line with the shift toward strengthening publicresponsibility for nurturing and caring for children from the perspective of future generations, this study aims to propose a plan for the improvement of the related legislation in order to facilitate implementation of the state responsibility system for children based on the close relationship between the child care, health care, education, and welfare sectors.

Ⅱ. Scope and method of research

○ For the purposes of this study, and in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the ｢Children's Welfare Act｣, children under the age of 18 were selected as the main subjects in order to meet the purpose of preparing a legislative improvement plan for the implementation of the state responsibility system for children. Furthermore, according to the relevant legal issues, adolescents under the   age of 18 were also included in the study, and children and adolescents under the age of 18 were selected as the main research subjects.

○ However, as a signatory to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, South Korea has already proposed the goal of strengthening support for essential services, such as education and medical treatment for children and adolescents with immigrant backgrounds (children of undocumented immigrants and refugees), in its 2nd Basic Child Policy Plan in order to protect universal children's human rights. Therefore, when examining the related research issues, children and adolescents with migrant backgrounds were also included in the study.

○ To identify clearer issues in the research process and to prepare effective alternatives, firstly, academia, related experts, and persons responsible for promoting major policy at ministries related to children and youth were appointed as advisors, and expert meetings and workshops were held to reflect their opinions.

○ To materialize research issues and guarantee expertise in the direction of improvement, a survey of expert opinions (19 people) was conducted on the direction of policy implementation, the need for the state responsibility system for children, and the necessity of detailed promotion tasks, the results of which are analyzed in Chapter 2.

 

Ⅲ. Main content

▶ Significance and legal basis of the state responsibility system for children

  1. Theoretical background to and legal basis for the state responsibility system for children

○ The issue of national responsibility for children starts with the provision of a safe and healthy basis for the birth of unborn children, i.e. the future generation(s), and includes both legal support and the systematization of the foundation for protection, so that they can achieve healthy growth and development as active members of the state and society.

○ The social state principle is a constitutional principle that not only passively guarantees the freedom and rights of the people, but calls for active intervention for the realization of social justice. State responsibility for children refers to the active intervention and involvement of the state for the welfare of children based on the preamble of the Constitution, Article 36 (1) in accordance with the social state principle, and this is the national goal that binds state institutions and primarily binds legislators.

○ Article 36 Paragraph 1 of the Constitution stipulates that marriage and family life shall be established and maintained on the basis of 'individual dignity and gender equality'. The family is a community of rights and obligations where parents are responsible for the growth and development of their children, and the main content is to provide    material, psychological and emotional needs and stability until the children grow up as social members of the constitutional state.

○ The current state responsibility system for children in South Korea aims to supplement the incomplete legislation related to the welfare of children for the realization of the social state principle; and determining the legislative tasks and specific means is an area that belongs to the freedom of legislative formation.

○ However, even if the legislators have the freedom to form a wide range of legislation to realize the welfare of children, in the actual legislative process, legitimacy can be recognized only by harmonizing it with the principle of the rule of law.

  2. Characteristics and current status of the state responsibility system for children in Korea

○ Some European countries have established rules for children in their constitutions, and have designed related laws to the effect that the state and society should actively protect and support children when there is insufficient protection in the home, with the focus on strengthening the efficiency of the private sector based on the experience of its operation.

○ South Korea has different characteristics from other countries in that it is necessary to expand not only the quantitative responsibility of the state but also the qualitative aspect in the area related to the legislative system for children.

○ In 2019, the government declared “national responsibility for children” and presented various plans related to its contents and methods, but the concept and direction of national responsibility, the general scope of national responsibility, and the theoretical basis of major issues, such as the role of the family and society in the process of expanding national responsibility, were not mentioned more systematically. Therefore, despite the fact that the state responsibility system for children is an important issue, it has led to the misperception that it is an extension of the uniform state-led welfare system.

○ As a result of the expert survey on the state responsibility system for children, regarding the meaning of strengthening the public function of the state in the state responsibility system for children, the respondents indicated that 'expanding child protection and welfare services to be directly performed by the state' and 'strengthening family protection and support for child rearing' were the top priorities.

○ In addition, the necessity of 'preparing an institutional basis for children's expression of opinions and strengthening their rights and identity' was also suggested as an important secondary priority.

○ Regarding the question of areas in which the role of the state should be strengthened, more than 39.5% of the respondents indicated 'prevention of child abuse and protection of abused children', while more than 26.3% opted for 'family protection and support for child rearing'. Considering that more than 26.3% of the respondents answered 'family protection and support for child rearing', it can be confirmed that most experts share the view that the public role of the state should be focused on preventing the causes of abuse or dissolution of the family in advance by providing familyprotection measures or support for child rearing, and by laying the groundwork for continuous support until children return to their homes and grow up healthily and safely after temporary protection or foster care.

○ As regards the question as to which items should be evaluated as the most successful among the detailed tasks related to the state responsibility    system for children promoted so far, and the degree of achievement of each detailed task, the respondents chose 'expanding child allowance' as the first priority, followed by 'complete reform of the child abuse response system' as the second priority. As for the third priority, concerning the need to establish an institution to support child rights monitoring and implement a long-term policy from an organizational point of view, the respondents mentioned the establishment of an institution dedicated to protecting children's rights as an achievement related to the state responsibility system for children.

▶ Legal issues and legislative measures for reinforcing children's rights and identity

  1. Supplementation of the birth registration system and introduction of the birth notification system

○ The main reason why universal birth registration is important for children is that if the formal requirements of birth registration, which constitute legal proof that they are a member of the state and society, cannot be met, access to health care services and education will be restricted and social relationships impeded, thus having a negative effect on the formation of a child's identity and hindering the formation and development of his or her personality.

○ Since the dignity of each individual is based on the process of forming an autonomous image of oneself based on one’s formation and development, the provision of that foundation is also a natural duty of the state.

○ (Status and Problems) First, since only the birth mother is currently allowed under the 「Family Relations Registration Act」 to report a child born outside marriage, even if the unmarried father is in charge of raising the child, the birth report for the child must be made with the personal information of the biological mother. If the biological mother does not consent to the entry of her personal information or her whereabouts is unknown, the report can be made only through a final judgment of the court, making it difficult report a birth immediately by the biological father.

○ In addition, even if the biological father is raising the child, if the biological mother is married, according to the principle of the presumption of paternity in the Civil Act (Article 844), registration of a birth is possible only after the result of litigation (recognition lawsuit) proving that the mother's legal husband is not the child's biological father. Regarding cases where a biological mother marries without informing her husband about a previous birth, it often transpires that they do not agree to register the child's birth, with the result that the biological father must go through a more difficult process to register the birth.

○ Since the current 「Family Relations Registration Act」 is a law that targets children of Korean nationality, children born in Korea who are not of Korean nationality, that is, children born in Korea due to their parents’ migration, are considered foreigners under the 「Nationality Act」. Therefore, they are not allowed to report births under the 「Family Relations Registration Act」 in the same way as Koreans.

○ (Legislative Measures) Since the current child birth registration system makes it difficult to promptly register births of children born outside marriage with Korean nationality and undocumented immigrant children, the introduction of a birth notification system, in which medical institutions notify the head of a Si/Eup/Myeon of the birth, would be a necessary legislative alternative to ensure the universal birth registration of children.

○ A partial amendment to the 「Family Relations Registration Act」 proposed by the government in March 2022 introduced a birth notification system that allows medical institutions to notify children's birth records using a computerized information system linked to the National Health Insurance under the 「Medical Act」.

○ However, it is a legal requirement to record an alien registration number if the mother is a foreigner at the time of birth notification. In this case, if the mother is an illegal resident, it may be difficult to prove the child's birth.

○ Therefore, in order to supplement this shortcoming, although the birth report does not have the same effect as that for a domestic child, if it is possible to register a child's birth by entering the mother’s passport number instead of the alien registration number, it will be possible to access medical and educational services through the examination for granting status of residence to children of illegal immigrant parents presented by the Ministry of Justice after receiving a birth report acceptance certificate under the current 「Family Relations Registration Act」.

○ If the birth notification system is introduced as proposed by the government, its application will be based on future effects rather than retrospective effects, so it may be difficult to guarantee the birth registration rights of children of Korean nationality who are currently unregistered in Korea.

○ To this end, an amendment to the civil law is the most effective alternative, but it may be difficult to expect prompt amendment because it is related to the family law system and the discussion is still ongoing. Therefore, an alternative to broadening the method of acknowledging exceptions to the civil law through an amendment to the 「Family Relations Registration Act」 may make it possible to enact the necessary legislation more quickly.

○ For this purpose, as an exception to Article 46 (2) of the 「Family Relations Registration Act」, which in principle only mother can report a children birth born outside marriage, it is possible to consider introducing a method of birth registration that reserves the entry of biological fathers, which is being discussed in academia.

  2. Enactment of the Framework Act on Children

○ (Necessity) In Korea's domestic legal system, there are no child-related provisions in the Constitution, and the ｢Children's Welfare Act｣ provides a system centered on children in need of protection. Therefore, the protection of children’s rights and   the right to remedy cannot but be derived through interpretation, unless it is specifically stipulated.

○ In addition, since children are people in the process of growing up, unless the right to help the growth process, such as the universal birth registration right or the right to be protected, is recognized as a basic right and a universal right, the opportunity to request the state's responsibility and active action is not available.

○ Of course, in accordance with Articles 10 and 37 (1) of the Constitution, even the basic rights not enumerated in the Constitution can be protected according to the state's obligation to guarantee basic human rights. However, unless they are reconfirmed through the precedents of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Court, they are only discussed as a right to teach, and they are difficult to act as a standard for child administration.

○ In this structure, most of the arguments for the rights of the child are found in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Even if the court cites the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as the basis for a trial, positive interpretation is very difficult due to the inherent nature of the judicial system, so it may reduce the inclusiveness of children's rights in the process of reviewing the related laws and regulations.

○ Therefore, it is necessary to enact the Framework Act on Children, which can act as a rule on the universal rights of children.

○ (Main Content) The enactment of the Framework Act on Children as the basis for children's rights is significant in that it provides an opportunity for legislators to fulfill their original duty to form laws to ensure children's rights, deviating from the current child norm structure in which the legislation for universal rights of children follows after relevant judicial judgment.

○ In order for the Framework Act on Children to be established as the basis for children's rights, it may be important to what extent children's rights under the Constitution and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child should be stipulated. A method that enumerates children's rights as comprehensively as possible, like the general Bill of Rights, might be more effective in clarifying children's rights, but in cases where they are already stipulated in the Constitution, redefining them in the law could result in the formation of an unnecessary overlapping normative structure.

○ Therefore, in the case of the most comprehensive and universal rights of children under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and rights that must be reaffirmed through law among the basic rights of children not enumerated in the Constitution, a compromise plan that stipulates this in the law may be more effective.

○ The child ombudsman system may be considered as a more direct means for the Framework Act on Children to become the basis for children's rights.

○ Therefore, the actual cause of a conflict of jurisdiction that could arise due to an age overlap between the 「Framework Act on Juveniles」 and the Framework Act on Children is not a legal problem, but rather an administrative issue caused by a failure of mutual cooperation or coordination between the competent departments in charge of the actual operation.

○ Therefore, to solve this problem, it may be necessary to prepare an alternative, such as the granting of authority to intervene by a higher authority that oversees and coordinates inter-ministerial tasks that may overlap due to age overlap.

○ Strengthening the overall function of child policy, that is, establishing a responsible control tower in the field of children’s care and welfare, will be one of the most important issues in the area of child administration when enacting the Framework Act on Children. To this end, it is necessary to strengthen the authority of the Child Policy Coordination Committee.

○ In particular, if the Framework Act on Children is enacted so that matters related to improvement of the child policy and system can also be discussed by the Child Policy Deliberation Committee, such as the 「Framework Act on Juveniles」 and the 「Framework Act on Youth」, a framework for regular discussions on child policy will be formed and a more progressive committee operated.

  3. Preparation of procedures for collecting the opinions of students in the education field

○ (Status and Problems) Although the educational policy and curriculum are closely related to students’ right to learn, and listening to students' opinions should be established as an essential pre-procedure, neither the 「Framework Act on Education」 nor the 「Elementary and Secondary Education Act」 provide such regulations.

○ Therefore, it is necessary to hold discussions on legislation aimed at strengthening children's right to express their opinions in the world of school life through the preparation of procedures for collecting students' opinions according to the Education Act.

○ The establishment of important educational policies such as the national curriculum is directly related to the welfare of children, and as the beneficiaries are children it is essential to collect their opinions during the establishment process.

○ The opinions of children collected through this process are not policy decisions that involve essential measures, but policy considerations. Therefore, it should be seen that the children's opinions presented in this process do not require the consent of parents and legal representatives, as they do not have a specific legal effect on the children who directly express the opinions.

○ (Legislative Measures) When deciding on important matters such as the national curriculum, which is closely related to students, it is to present an amendment to newly establish Article 23-2 of the 「Elementary and Secondary Education Act」 in order to prepare an essential preliminary procedure for collecting the opinions of students, the subjects of the curriculum, in advance.

○ Regarding matters closely related to students, such as the national curriculum, among the matters deliberated by the School Steering Committee, it is to present an amendment to the 「Enforcement Decree of Elementary and Secondary Education Act」 so that it would become necessary to listen to the opinions of students when the School Steering Committee deliberates on them.

▶ Legal issues and legislative measures to strengthen the child care system and expand the scope of health support

  1. Legalization of elementary school care classes and after-school programs

○ (Status and Problems) Although the function of educational care in schools is becoming increasingly important, there is still no legal basis for elementary school care classes, and classes are being operated according to the Notice of the Ministry of Education (No. 2013-7), so concerns about deficiencies in terms of stable operation and integrated management and supervision are constantly being raised.

○ There is no actual basis for the operation of after-school programs, including elementary school care, under the 「Elementary and Secondary Education Act」, but they are generally run autonomously by a school’s principal after deliberation by the school management committee in accordance with educational autonomy, while the 「Special Act on the Promotion of the Normalization of Public Education and Regulations on Prior Education」 (applicable for a limited time until February 28, 2025, hereafter referred to as the 「Special Act on the Normalization of Public Education」) only stipulates that after-school programs should not be operated in advance of the school curriculum.

○ Whether it is welfare care or educational care, when looking at the subject of the student, it is an area in which the public function of the state is being strengthened, so it is a subject of national responsibility.

○ First of all, in terms of linking education and care services within schools from the perspective of children in elementary schools, and considering the linkage between elementary school care classes and after-school programs, the main issue is to establish the basis for the education legislation.

○ (Legislative Measures) The following two methods may be considered to provide a legal basis for elementary school care classes and after-school programs. To this end, the concept of ‘after-school program’ may be used to integrate the concepts discussed by dividing education and care.

○ Although the characteristics of the elementary school care classes and the after-school programs are different, in that their purpose is basically to provide a means to support regular education, the term program, which is an objective concept, was used so that it could be naturally integrated within the school. 

○ Based on this concept, the first plan was to establish a legal basis for after-school programs and elementary school care classes within the framework of the ｢Elementary and Secondary Education Act｣; and given that Chapter 4 of the ｢Elementary and Secondary Education Act｣ stipulates matters related to elementary schools, an amendment was proposed to provide the basis for operating after-school programs by newly establishing Article 40-2.

○ The second plan aimed to prepare the enactment of the law on after-school programs, consisting of 3 Chapters and 16 Articles, excluding the by-laws. As regards the form, Chapter 1 sets forth the General Provisions, Chapter 2 sets out the operation of after-school programs, and Chapter 3 stipulates the support and supervision of the program.

  2. Legislation of hospital schools to expand support for children with health disabilities

○ (Status and Problems) A hospital school is not a legal concept in the strict sense of the term, but it is a place or facility used for the purpose of itinerant education within a hospital where children who have health disabilities and are subject to special education receive classes. According to the 「Act on Special Education for Persons with Disabilities」, it can be referred to as a special school belonging to the Office of Education or a class dispatched from a general school (special class).

○ As long as it is stipulated as compulsory education up to the secondary education curriculum under the Education Act, children's right to learn is a core area of the country that must be guaranteed continuously without interruption (「Basic Education Act」 Article 8). Nevertheless, under the current structure, whether or not to open or close a hospital school can vary according to the decision of the hospital director or the financial structure of the hospital, and the use by students or the dispatch of teachers to hospital schools may vary depending on the decision of the city/provincial superintendent of education and on the city/provincial educational finances.

○ (Legislative Measures) For those subject to compulsory education, it is an area of national responsibility linked to health care and education to provide a legal structure that ensures the right to continue learning through hospital school classes even when children are hospitalized due to disease or trauma.

○ For this purpose, together with the amendment to the 「Medical Service Act」 requiring the establishment of hospital schools in essential facilities when opening a hospital that operates more than a certain number of child wards is permitted, it is necessary to provide legislative measures that enable both children with health disabilities and children with long-term absences to use hospital schools.

○ To this end, in relation to the selection targets of hospital schools, it is first necessary to expand the criteria for children with health disabilities under the 「Act on Special Education for Persons with Disabilities」 to cover chronic diseases of 8 weeks or more.

○ However, if children with long-term absences in children with health disabilities are included under the amendment to the 「Act on Special Education for Persons with Disabilities」, it may result in failure to take into account the specificities of special education based on disabilities.

○ In addition, through the revision of the 「Act on Special Education for Persons with Disabilities」, it may also be difficult to specifically define regulations that require linkage from the perspective of the management and supervision of hospital schools and children with health disabilities, such as the linkage between the doctor in charge and the special education teacher in class matters, between the hospital and school regarding the operation of hospital schools, and between hospitals and city/provincial offices of education and hospital schools and regular schools regarding the education of children with health disabilities.

○ The establishment of management and supervision regulations for hospital schools should be structured in such a way that each part of responsibility can be distinguished as much as possible in this linkage, but adding similar provisions to the 「Medical Service Act」 and 「Act on Special Education for Persons with Disabilities」 respectively may also lead to the problem of overlapping regulation.

○ Under the 「Act on Special Education for Persons with Disabilities」, hospital schools fall under special schools or special classes in general schools, so amending the 「Act on Special Education for Persons with Disabilities」 by separately stipulating the definitions for hospital schools will not have much meaning either.

○ Therefore, it would be more effective to enact a separate law in order to determine the main matters necessary for the operation of hospital schools from the standpoint of children with disabilities, in order to reduce regional differences in hospital school operation, operate hospital schools efficiently, and strengthen management and supervision.

▶ Legal issues and legislative measures to strengthen the child protection system

  1. Expansion of protection and support for child victims

○ (Status and Problems) Although the laws under the 「Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes」 and the「Child Welfare Act」 are important legal means for the protection of child  victims in the child protection system, they have limitations in that concrete protection measures cannot be taken until the damage caused by abuse is clearly and directly exposed.

○ It is also difficult to take immediate emergency measures concerning children who have been abused, unless the site of abuse under the 「Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes」 is discovered or the damage is confirmed and the risk of repeated abuse is imminent and significant.

○ In addition, among the specific means of emergency measures that are immediately necessary, the admission of a child victim to a medical institution for treatment is also limited, and is only possible when urgent treatment is needed (Article 12).

○ Within such a structure, even if there are circumstances that arouse suspicion of abuse, there is no action that can be taken practically by the emergency responders unless there is evident damage.

○ Nevertheless, the current child abuse response structure entrusts everything to the on-site judgment of the police or the child abuse officials from the initial response, leaving the possibility that the appropriate time for protecting children will be missed, or that the abuse will be repeated. 

○ (Legislative Measures) Regarding critical cases in which child abuse does not decrease but becomes increasingly serious, the discussion of early medical intervention measures such as mandatory medical diagnosis inevitably proceeds, unless sufficient countermeasures are prepared early on to reduce harm to the children concerned.

○ However, it might be more effective to consider the following compromises considering the psychological anxiety of and burden upon children that may arise from indiscriminate examination and cooperation with medical staff from actual diagnosis to subsequent treatment.

○ As regards the earliest response measures, if a case of abuse is suspected, medical supplementary measures are necessary to reduce the burden of the emergency responders and to increase the interests of children. In this case, the amendment could include the following two proposals:

○ The first proposal is to provide a medical diagnosis rule in the provisions on emergency response in Article 11 of the 「Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes」, so that medical diagnosis can be used as a precautionary measure for the safety of children during investigations of abuse.

○ As for the second proposal, it was concluded that it would be more effective to stipulate the medical supplementary measures together within the scope of emergency measures, so an amendment to the regulations on emergency measures in Article 12 was proposed.

  2. Measures to prevent repeated child abuse upon returning home

○ (Status and Problems) It is believed that the continuous and frequent occurrence of child abuse is fundamentally because parental abusive behavior is not cured when the child victim returns to the home. Thus, to increase the effect of preventing repeated child, it is necessary to supplement the principle of protecting the original family from a child-centered point of view.

○ In Article 13-2 of the 「Enforcement Decree of the Child Welfare Act」, the regulations on the Case Determination Committee, which decides whether or not abused children should be returned to their homes, only stipulate the composition and quorum of the decisions, and do not include factors that should be considered when a child is returned to the family.

○ Therefore, when deciding whether or not to return an abused child to the home, the Case Determination Committee should prepare a re-investigation and investigation procedure on the parenting ability of the child’s parents so that the results can be reflected in the deliberation; furthermore, it is necessary to provide a plan for improving the legislation so as to create a structure that can listen to children's opinions and reflect them in the process of deciding measures to return children to the home through the connection of courts, child protection agencies, and city/provincial Case Determination Committees.

○ (Legislative Measures) In accordance with Article 12 of the 「Child Welfare Act」, the composition and operation of the Case Determination Committee are stipulated in Article 13-2 of the 「Enforcement Decree of the Child Welfare Act」, so it might be effective to prepare an amendment concerning investigations into a child's intention to return home and parenting ability, etc. in Article 13-2 of the 「Enforcement Decree of the Child Welfare Act」, which may be said to be the direct basis of the Case Determination Committee.

○ It may be possible to stipulate that the child's intention to return home should be confirmed through an indirect expression, such as “The child's intention shall be respected when making a decision”, which is like the expression used in the general child law system. However, in order to establish it as a more important consideration in the deliberation of the Case Determination Committee, it will be necessary to compose an article in the form of a direct investigation of a child's intention to return home.

○ According to Article 12 (1) of the 「Child Welfare Act」, the matters to be deliberated by the Case Determination Committee include protection measures due to reported abuse (Subparagraph 2), such measures as expulsion from the welfare facility (Subparagraph 3), and matters concerning the extension of the protection period and the termination of protective measures at the facility (Subparagraph 4), as well as restrictions on parental authority or a declaration of loss of parental authority and a request for the appointment or change of the guardian. Among these, the amendment was prepared so that only the matters for deliberation under Article 12 (1) 2 through 4 of the 「Child Welfare Act」, which are essential to confirm the parenting ability of the birth parents for a child’s return home, must be subject to an investigation concerning the child’s intention to return and the situation of the biological parents.

 

Ⅲ. Expected Effects

○ It will be possible to use this study as the basic data for future child welfare-related research as it provides a historical summary of the child welfare policy and legal issues as well as points for improvement in the law based on the child protection support policy.

○ It is to prepare a legal and institutional reform plan to review children's policies and systems comprehensively and to resolve blind spots in child protection, and to contribute to the establishment of policies for the growth and protection of future generations by proposing legislative policies for the effective implementation of the state responsibility system for children.