'Baby box is last resort to parents, newborns in Korea '

Lee Jong-rak, a pastor of Jusarang Community Church, has been taking care of abandoned babies through baby box since 2009, saving more than 1,500 newborns. Korea Times photo by Jung Hae-myoung

By Jung Hae-myoung

Lee Jong-rak, the pastor of Jusarang Community Church, received a desperate phone call at 3:20 a.m. in April 2007.

"Over the phone, a woman kept apologizing and saying she left her baby in front of the church door," Lee said.

When he went outside, a cat jumped from a fish box in front of the door. Inside the box was a baby with a cold body. Lee said she died when he hugged her to his chest.

"Until 2009, many babies were abandoned in places like garbage boxes, bathrooms and subway station lockers," Lee said. "One day I saw a news article that the Czech Republic has a baby box for discarded babies."

Lee immediately adopted the idea and became the first to establish a baby box in Korea. He started in 2009 and has been running it for over 10 years so that parents who cannot afford to raise a child can put babies in a safe place as a last resort.

"It was to save just one more life," he said.

Baby box offers a space with heat for newborns to stay warm when they are abandoned, and a bell for the mothers to ring when they leave the child. / Korea Times photo by Jung Hae-myoung

Despite the good intentions, the baby box system has been controversial. In November, the Civil Society Organizations Network in Korea, consisting of more than 400 civic groups, submitted a report to the Committee of the Rights of the Child under the United Nations to say the baby box system violates the U.N. convention of the rights of the child which states "a child must be registered as soon as he or she is born."

As most of the babies from the baby box cannot be registered properly, and thus are hard to adopt, the civic groups argue that the baby box is encouraging the abandonment of unwanted children.

This is related to Korea's law on adoption set up in August 2012, which forces a biological mother to register her newborn in order for the child to be adopted.

However, in this country where pregnancy out of wedlock is considered a sin, such women hide the pregnancies and do not legally register the child. They feel they have no choice but to discard or even kill the child.

"After the law took effect, babies were rushed into the box. Before there were only two to three babies per month but after that, the number increased to 20 to 25 per month," Lee said.

The babies are sent to orphanages following medical checkups at a city-run hospital and paperwork at a child welfare center.

Lee said the original intention of the law is understandable, but its outcome worsened the situation for both mother and child.

"The law was legislated for the child's right to find his or her biological mother when they grow up," Lee said. "But the current environment, culture and economic support for single mothers in this country cannot protect them by law. The government only supports single mothers with 150,000 won ($133) and young mothers are still exposed to prejudice and stigma."

Lee tries to meet the parents and persuade them to take their babies, promising to provide necessities to raise a baby, such as diapers, milk powder and household items.

According to the church, 1,538 babies have arrived through the baby box and received protection since 2009. Among them, 161 went back to their birth parents.

While Lee wishes to help as much as he can, he faces limitations as a private institution run by an individual.

"I want to help the babies and mothers as much as I can, but while running the institution by myself and a small staff, I feel the limitations when we cannot provide enough financial support and sometimes we are unable to take care of the babies."

Lee said the issue can no longer remain in the private sector, and called for the government to play an active role in protecting and supporting babies and mothers, which could also help to tackle the low birthrate in this country.

The government, however, has been idle ― or deliberately turning a blind eye ― to the issue. If it allows the baby box to stay in operation, it could face criticism that the government is encouraging child abandonment; if it bans the box in accordance with the U.N. recommendation, it could also be criticized for leaving the children unprotected. Amid the dilemma, the government has remained silent on the baby box issue without discussion or solutions for the last decade.

As one solution, Rep. Oh Shin-hwan of the minor Bareunmirae Party submitted a bill for an "anonymous childbirth law" in February 2018, aimed at allowing the information on the birth mother to remain confidential by an institution and permitting only the child and mother to check the information when they want.

"Most support for young parents is offered on the premise that they provide their real names," Lee said. "The support should be provided with correct information, but making it confidential can make the parents feel safer to do so."

But the law has been pending for a year.

"I look forward to deliberation of the law in upcoming March. I believe this law can save even more lives than people may think," Lee said.