Constitutional Court affirms birth registration rights for foreign children born in Korea

The Korean Constitutional Court has declared the absence of a legal mandate for registering foreign children born in Korea as unconstitutional, affirming their unconditional right to birth registration. This unanimous decision came after a Vietnamese couple, who had been living in the country undocumented after their immigration status expired, filed a constitutional petition in 2019. Their daughter, born in 2019, was unable to be registered in Korea, leading to the legal challenge.

The court emphasized that every child born in Korea, regardless of their parents' nationality or immigration status, has a constitutional right to be registered by the state. Currently, Korea's system of birth registration only guarantees immediate registration for Korean nationals, who must first register the birth of a foreigner in their home country. This makes immediate registration for foreigners virtually impossible.

The Constitutional Court recognized a fundamental right to have one's birth officially registered at the time of birth, stating that this is the minimum protection due to children's inability to choose their nationality, parents, or place of birth. The court also acknowledged the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child's recommendation for Korea to adopt universal birth registration.

The ruling does not imply that undocumented migrants will be condoned; rather, it is a first step towards providing basic protection and support to foreign children born in Korea. The Constitutional Court's ruling creates a legal and political obligation on the National Assembly to swiftly pass legislation to address this omission, though no specific deadline has been set.