A baby box is a private facility where parents, who are unable to raise their children due to unavoidable circumstances, can anonymously leave their children. Korea's first baby box was established in 2009 by the pastor Lee Jong-rak of the Jusarang Community Church in Gwanak-gu, Seoul to ensure the safety of the children. The debate over whether the baby box is for life protection or is a facility that promotes infant abandonment has continued since it became well-known to the people in Korea. However, the baby box is a necessary facility in Korean society because it can protect not only children who can be abandoned but also their parents, and partially fill the blind spots of the welfare system which Korea's current welfare policy cannot resolve.

           First, baby boxes save children who are in immediate danger of being abandoned. According to the Jusarang Community Church, a total of 1,956 children were entrusted to baby boxes in Seoul from 2009, when the first baby box was installed, to February 2022. In other words, over the past 13 years, baby boxes have protected about 2,000 children who were at risk of being abandoned or neglected. According to article 4 of the Child Welfare Act, children who are not in a situation of being cared for in the home where they were born must be brought up in an environment similar to their home. Children's guardians and baby box facilities work with the Child Welfare Center to provide better environments for children through the adoption process. If it is difficult to send children for adoption because they did not go through the minimum legal procedures such as birth registration and there is no custodial rights waiver, children grow up under the protection of the childcare facilities. In this way, children's lives can be guaranteed and protected. In order to raise a child, not only do the economic needs need to be met, but the personality of the parent and the basic ability and desire to become good parents are also necessary. Otherwise, it is difficult to give children a suitable parenting environment. In fact, as a result of analyzing the information of parents and babies who came to the baby box, most of them are suffering from extreme financial difficulties because they do not have a residence, or they have unwanted children due to a lack of proper sex education. Infants’ bodies are often found in various places, such as food waste bins, supermarkets, subway station lockers, and public toilets. In order to prevent these cases and save their lives, baby boxes are essential.

           Second, baby boxes not only protect the child but also provide psychological and material support to the parent. Kim Youn-jie, the CEO of BtoB, who is conducting the “Baby Box Project[1],” mentioned the cases of single mothers who were refused helps from government agencies who asserted that they could not help the parents. She said that baby boxes are a great help for parents who want to protect their children. In fact, 30% of parents who left their children at the baby box, revisit the child after consulting. It shows that the purpose of parents is not to abandon their children but are instead thinking of the future of their children and feel a great responsibility. Counseling with a baby box manager can help these parents think positively about raising their children. According to the data of the Jusarang Community Church in 2020, most of the work that baby box actually does is devoted to counseling for parents who are in crisis. As of 2020, the baby box provided 1,851 counseling opportunities to parents, helping them to feel psychologically stable. In addition, the existence of the baby box also played a big economic role. For parents who left their children in the baby box, the caregivers provided 1,178 baby care kits[2] and 707 additional kits. Also, regarding COVID-19, there are 116 cases of support for living expenses. According to a study in 2015, “Baby Boxes and Anonymous Birth Laws[3] in Germany,” people who find baby boxes and leave their children are different from those who kill infants. This study reveals that parents have thoughts of ​​entrusting their children in baby boxes because there is no alternative solution due to their harsh circumstances. In other words, baby box facilities do not just take care of children, but they exist as welfare institutions for parents.

           Third, baby boxes overcome the limitations of welfare policy. In the current welfare support policy, of course, there is the policy for unmarried parents, who account for about 70% of those who leave their children in the baby box. However, the relevant departments are scattered, making it difficult for parents to find information. In an interview with Money Today in 2018, a single mother said, “When I found out that I was pregnant, I went to the community center, but they told me that they were not in charge and asked me to go to a different office. I went through a difficult time when every center told me to go to another place... In the end, I got the most support from the baby box.” As such, it is not easy for single parents to know exactly what government policies can give help. It is difficult to know whether the parents are targets for the support plan as there are complex factors to consider, such as age and income level, and also there is not enough promotion about it. In addition, because the universal birth registration system, “a system that guarantees that all children born in Korea must register their births with the government”, or the anonymous birth system that “guarantees anonymity because there are no birth records left” are not implemented well, the baby box can be the last solution for the parents. In February 2018, Bareunmirae Party’s lawmaker Oh Shin-hwan proposed the enactment of the “Special Act on Expansion of Support for Pregnant Women and Secret Birth,” taking one step further toward the universal birth registration system and the anonymous birth system. However, due to the absence of such systems, it is necessary to preserve the baby box in Korea. Pastor Lee Jong-rak also emphasized the need for an anonymous birth system and argued that it is necessary to expand government support before discussing whether to demolish the baby box.

If the baby box is banned without any practical measures at the government level, there is a possibility that children, who could have been entrusted in the baby box and guaranteed their lives, will be abandoned in dangerous places such as the street. In addition, parents who give birth to children without preparation would have no place where they could receive psychological and financial support. Lastly, removing the baby box, people such as single parents in the blind spot of the government's current welfare policy will not be able to receive support, which can encourage the abandonment of infants. Therefore, baby boxes are essential facilities in Korean society.

In the debate about the removal of baby boxes, those who argue for their removal point out that baby boxes can be illegal means of abandoning children, and say that there is little chance that baby boxes will be made legal in accordance with the UN's principles for children's rights. In contrast, those who oppose the removal of the baby boxes emphasize that those are directly related to the lives of children and are the last option to save the lives. CAH hopes that experts and the Korean government will discuss the baby boxes in various aspects so that all children born in Korea can live with guaranteed human rights.