혈연의 진실과 가족의 정의: ‘제5차 건강가정기본계획’이 열어젖힌 포용적 미래 > K-wave Trends

The core of this policy change is undoubtedly the guarantee of birth registration rights for children of unmarried fathers. Until now, our Civil Act and Family Relation Registration Act allowed birth registration of children born out of wedlock only by the biological mother, and for a biological father to register the child himself, he had to go through an arduous process, such as proving the whereabouts of the biological mother were unknown. In particular, due to the ‘presumption of legitimacy’ principle—where a child born to a woman in a legal marriage is unconditionally presumed to be the husband's child—a contradiction arose where a biological father could not be recognized as the legal father even if he was raising the child. To overcome this unconstitutional situation, the government has decided to push for legal amendments to grant biological fathers the right to file a ‘lawsuit to deny legitimacy’ and to enable prompt birth registration through scientific proof of blood ties. This is a progressive decision that goes beyond simple administrative improvement, fully embracing the ‘child’s right to be registered at birth,’ which dictates that a child should be under the protection of the state immediately upon birth.

As family forms diversify into single-person households, unmarried cohabitation, and migrant-background families, the government's policy support system is also becoming more comprehensive. While the past concept of a ‘healthy family’ focused only on traditional family structures, the focus is now on identifying new crisis households in blind spots, such as isolated/reclusive youth, individuals with borderline intelligence, and young caregivers. In particular, by introducing an AI-based crisis household identification model to analyze 47 types of data—such as power/water cutoffs and health insurance premium arrears—the government is shifting toward proactive welfare where the state reaches out first. This change is interpreted as a will to solidify a social safety net that helps these individuals return to society as stable members through customized counseling by life cycle and employment-linked programs, rather than simply leaving family dissolution to its own devices.

Economic and institutional support to improve child-rearing environments will also be significantly expanded. The plan to gradually raise the age for child allowance from under 9 to under 13 by 2030, by one year each year, is a scheme to provide a practical economic buffer during the period when child-rearing burdens are heaviest. Furthermore, the policy of providing additional benefits to children living in non-metropolitan areas and regions with declining populations reflects a perspective of balanced regional development, aiming to create an environment conducive to childbirth and child-rearing amidst the crisis of regional extinction. Additionally, protection for victims of domestic violence has been strengthened; the stay period in short-term shelters has been extended from one year to one year and six months, and public rental housing is being linked to support independent living, meticulously backing the entire process until the victim escapes the cycle of violence and achieves complete self-reliance.

In line with the entry into a multicultural society, inclusive policies for migrant-background families are also being strengthened. While the existing Multicultural Family Support Act was limited to specific types of families, the scope of support is now being expanded to include ‘migrant-background families’ as a whole, encompassing not only foreigners but also naturalized citizens, second-generation immigrants, and North Korean defector families. A service that uses generative AI to provide life information in 14 languages is significant in that it bridges the information gap caused by language barriers and establishes a legal basis for migrant-background children and adolescents to use multicultural family support centers without discrimination. This shows that our society is no longer staying within mono-ethnic thinking but is laying the social foundation for members with diverse cultural backgrounds to live together in harmony.

Meanwhile, this plan also includes the will to begin social discussions on new family forms, such as non-marital childbirth using assisted reproductive technology. The government is conducting research to closely identify ethical and legal issues and is also putting effort into creating a culture of gender equality in the workplace, such as by introducing an employment equality disclosure system. These series of policies are ultimately moving toward realizing communal values where the state and society share the responsibility of care, rather than shifting it to a specific gender or family member. Although tasks such as parliamentary discussion and social consensus remain in the process of legal amendment and institutional settlement, the fact that it is responding nimbly to the changing demands of the era proves that our society is moving toward more mature family policies.