Bill to allow singles to be eligible for full adoptions announced

The justice ministry announced Tuesday it has come up with a law revision to allow capable singles to become eligible for full adoptions.

The ministry said it plans to submit the bill to revise the current civil law to allow singles 25 and older capable of supporting the well-being of an adoptee to become eligible for full adoptions.

According to the current law, full adoptions, which cuts off all legal ties of an adoptee with the original family, are allowed only for married couples, while singles can only seek regular adoptions.

The ministry also said it plans to strengthen the court review process of whether to allow full adoptions by adding new review criteria, such as how much child rearing time the potential parents would have and the post-adoption child care environments.

The ministry explained the revision was sought in order to address concerns that the current full adoption ban for singles could infringe upon the freedom and equality rights of singles hoping to form a family without a partner. (Yonhap)