Recently our office represented U.S. parents whose adoption application had been denied by the Korean court.  The adoption was processed as an institutional adoption which is regulated by the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Promotion and Procedure of Adoption.  Institutional adoption, often called an orphanage adoption, is under more strict regulation and qualifications than a private adoption.  In this case, the 1st instance court of Seoul Family Court denied the U.S. parents’ adoption petition due to the concern caused by the adoptive parent’s past medical history of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).

Our office took this case at the appellate court level.  We reviewed the entire record and documents from the beginning and found that the lower court’s finding and the conclusion were not based on the true facts, but on the vague concern.  We even found a critical error in the translation of the ODC evaluation report provided by the Korean adoption agency.

We argued in front of the appellate judges that U.S. medical professionals had stated that the petitioner’s OCD did not harm his suitability as an adoptive parent.   He also pointed out that the U.S. government had approved the petitioner’s suitability as an adoptive parent after reviewing the very same record which had been submitted to the Korean court.  Finally, we presented the original medial record which proved the Korean translation used at the lower court was wrong.

After having a hearing, the appellate court judges sided with our arguments and overturned the lower court’s adoption denial and granted the US petitioner’s adoption.

We are very proud that we could assist US adoptive parents in getting the adoption permission from the Korean court.  It must have been enormous pain for them when their application was denied.  This case shows how important it is to have a thorough review of the application documents and to prepare sufficient supportive materials in getting adoption permission.  A large amount of document is filed with the court and sometimes a minor mistake in the Korean translation could lead to a negative impression on the judge and result in a fatal denial.  That is why a competent English speaking Korean attorney is needed in the course of adoption application in Korea.

If you have any questions regarding this article or you are in a similar case/situation, please visit our Legal Consultation center or send your inquiry email by clicking here.  Our Korean qualified lawyer will answer your inquiry.

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