Children may be allowed to take mother's surname

[waves-of-light.livejournal.com]

Children may be allowed to take their mother's surname, as the government plans to change the current system prioritizing paternal roots when determining a child's family name, according to the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, Tuesday.

Under South Korean law, children must take their biological father's surname, unless the parents had agreed at the time of marriage registration to use the mother's surname.

The Minister of Gender Equality and Family released a statement Tuesday in which it indicated that such a system may lead to "discriminatory perceptions among children of various families, such as unmarried and single parents."

The gender ministry said it will improve the system through discussions with the Ministry of Justice to allow couples to choose their child's surname when applying for birth registration, so that it will be easier for them to use a maternal family name.

The surname system was a part of a five-year plan on the framework of family, which was approved during a Cabinet meeting earlier in the day.

The framework, aimed at encouraging inclusivity by recognizing unconventional forms of family, will serve as a basis in structuring family-related policies over the next five years.

According to the plan, the ministry seeks to include various types of "family units" such as single-person households and unmarried cohabitating couples into the legal definition of a family.

The move comes as the rate of one-person households in 2019 grew to 30 percent from 23 percent in 2010, whereas the share of traditional nuclear families, consisting of a married couple and their children, has shrunk gradually to 30 percent from 37 percent in 2010, according to government data.

But the current Civil Law and Family Act defines family as based on marriage, and either childbirth or adoption. Other types such as unmarried cohabitating couples, roommates and single-person households are not legally recognized as "family," making them ineligible for some government support programs and benefits.

The authorities plan to expand the definition of family to include those in various relationships based on intimacy and care for each other, and eradicate discrimination against newly emerging types of households.

"As households are expected to diversify rapidly in the post-coronavirus era, it is vital to create an environment in which all forms of families are respected without suffering social discrimination or exclusion from governmental policies," Gender Minister Chung Young-ai said during a briefing, Tuesday.




source: The Korea Times

Comments

[chikage-chan.livejournal.com]

Took them long enough to even get to the point of just planning something like this. /sigh

[neoreulwonhae.livejournal.com]

I had no idea that was even a requirement. How ridiculous.

[daynr.livejournal.com]

More progressive than trends in multiple American states....

[gathyou.livejournal.com]

About fucking time
I'm glad that besides family names, they also plan to change what is considered family for government aids and programs.

[broadcities.livejournal.com]

wow finally.

According to the plan, the ministry seeks to include various types of "family units" such as single-person households and unmarried cohabitating couples into the legal definition of a family.
good that this is happening too! i'm feeling for the families who are currently not legally considered to be families though, that must have a lot of impact on their daily lives

[benihime99.livejournal.com]

all the intl people in the comments here (and other places) jumping on their high horse to say "finally"
Y'all might want to check your own country laws (and read the fine lines)

[921227.livejournal.com]

I guess if you don't have children or come from a family that something like this effects, it might be difficult to realize theyre are restrictions and actually legal definitions that exclude people. Esp in the US where there's not really the concept of a family registry .

But! I agree people should look into it, esp as countries coughUScough are digging deep into social conservatism where things are changing quickly

[myrrhcat.livejournal.com]

i wonder if this will lead to certain rare surnames becoming more widespread

[921227.livejournal.com]

That's a really good point for a country where half the pop. have 3 last names!

[myrrhcat.livejournal.com]

yeah, and meanwhile there are some surnames with less than 50 people who have them... if i were from one of those families and pregnant i'd definitely be considering passing the name to my kid

[921227.livejournal.com]

It's great to see them expand the definition of a family, as over of the easiest ways to reducesigns of those family's is projecting them under the law and affording them the same rights as traditional or nuclear families.

Children being able to take their mothers name is very important! Why give due to someone that's not in the picture? Even in the US where it's an option, I know many single mothers whose children have dads last name when he's never even met them !!

But it'll be seen how many mothers take that route as it might be a quick judge that she is unwed or single.

[cosmicdaze.livejournal.com]

i believe up until recently it was not possible for fathers alone to register their children as part of their family, so the children of single fathers effectively didn't exist (and thus didn't have a social security number and weren't able to be registered for daycare and other things).

as someone who is not interested in having children, processes like these seem unnecessarily complex (within korea and back at home in the states) but i know it's probably partially to do with making life as inconvenient as possible for people the government doesn't want having children.

[921227.livejournal.com]

That's so bizarre! Like obvs some guys could just be single but like, what if the mom passed during birth?? Thats unfortunate

[xoxkenzxox.livejournal.com]

Personal time - I didn't change my last name after I got married. And when we had our daughter we gave both our last names (normal Hispanic tradition). So my daughter technically has 2 last names.

First Middle Mine His

[921227.livejournal.com]

I work at a school and we see that a lot but the ultimate dilemma is wondering how exactly to call the parents! It seems they all have their own preferences😅

[xoxkenzxox.livejournal.com]

hahaha! I can understand that. My daughter is still young so I don't have that problem yet. Also, for standardized testing in future, her last name will definitely NOT fit on a scantron. But too bad.