Lee Min-ah, Professor of Department of Sociology, Chung-Ang University

1. Recently, as there have been many incidents related to child abuse, voices about the introduction of Universal Birth Registration (UBR) at medical institutions are growing, what do you think about this?

Universal Birth Registration (UBR) can reduce the likelihood of child abuse in that it can reduce the occurrence of unregistered children. If parents don't register their child’s birth, there may be children who are abused or neglected, but also their existence may not be known. It means that even if a child is born, if their parents don't register their birth, their child may be in administrative blind spots. As child abuse is a social problem, we now track and investigate children who have not gone to school even though they are at the age of entering school, but these measures are fundamentally impossible if birth registration is not done. Although there may be differences in specific measures, this system is already being implemented in many other countries. I agree that the state is responsible and obligated to protect children.

2. What are the advantages and disadvantages of universal birth registration?

The advantages are those discussed earlier, and the disadvantages may be resistance from the medical community. In addition, if reporting to a medical institution becomes mandatory, there may be people who are reluctant to give birth in a medical institution, even if not many. We need to think about how to supplement this part.

3. Could the expansion of the universal birth registration be a solution to recovering children's rights?

It won't be a perfect solution. However, it is thought that the number of children who are not protected due to omission from birth registration may decrease. In order to eradicate child abuse and protect children's rights, not only this system, but also other various efforts are needed.

4. If universal birth registration is expanded, how can it affect the hospitals and society?

Confusion and administrative burdens may arise in the medical community in the early stages of its introduction. The reason why the medical community opposes this is that there is an administrative burden, and if there is an unreported error, there is a burden on who is responsible. However, any system is bound to cause confusion and burden in the early stages of settlement, and if it is settled well over time, I think the backlash from the medical community will decrease. Socially, convincing external organizations and local governments that they are interested in and responsible for a child's birth and life can help improve the false perception that parents can decide everything about their child. It will also be socially effective to reduce neglect or abuse of children.