By Lee Hyo-sik
Thirteen ethnic Koreans adopted overseas acquired Korean citizenship without having to renounce their original nationality, becoming the first beneficiaries of the nation’s revised Nationality Act, the Ministry of Justice said Tuesday.
Kim Dae-won, 43, who went to Switzerland when he was five, and 12 other overseas adoptees obtained dual citizenship after the revised act went into effect early this year.
All thirteen individuals returned to Korea years ago and have been working here in various occupations such as English teacher or a member of a civic organization.
The ministry organized an event Tuesday at the Gwacheon Government Complex, south of Seoul, to celebrate their regaining Korean citizenship.
A senior ministry official said ethnic Koreans adopted by foreigners deserve the right to recover Korean nationality because they had no say in the matter when they were sent abroad.
“The reinstatement will encourage more Korean adoptees overseas to settle down here and help redefine their Korean identity,” he said.
Under the revised Nationality Act, which took effect on Jan. 1, the government offers dual citizenship to Korean adoptees and foreigners with outstanding talents if they vow not to exercise rights as a foreign national while staying here.
Foreigners who have a Korean spouse and ethnic Koreans aged over 65 who seek to spend the rest of their lives here are also allowed to gain Korean citizenship without giving up their initial nationality. Nearly 100 countries across the globe permit multiple-nation citizenship.
Previously, Korean overseas adoptees and others who want to acquire Korean citizenship had to renounce their original nationality within six months after naturalization.
Those who hold more than one nationality were required to choose one when they turn 22 or they would automatically lose their Korean citizenship.
The change is expected to prompt more ethnic Koreans adopted by foreigners to come here and obtain Korean citizenship. Many adoptees are reluctant to give up their foreign nationality because it may harm the family relationship with their adoptive parents and siblings, the justice ministry said.
Tens of thousands of abandoned children here have been adopted by foreigners, mostly by Americans and Europeans, over the years. Many Koreans are unwilling to adopt because they place high priorities on blood ties between parents and offspring.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 1,013 Korean children were sent to foreign countries for adoption in 2010, down from 1,125 in 2009 and 1,250 in 2008.