The Korean Police Missing Persons DNA Test Opens To More Adoptees Worldwide!
You no longer have to be considered a "Missing Person" in order to take this test. There is new criteria which permits *most* Adoptees to take this test.
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE:
*Please be sure to read about the “Adoption Certificate” you will need to request from your Korean Adoption Agency in order to take the Korean Missing Persons DNA Test at a Police Station in Korea.
Please NOTE: It may take MONTHS to get your “Adoption Certificate” from your Korean Adoption Agency, so please take this into account if you plan to visit Korea.
*Please be sure to read about the “NCRC Certificate” you will need to request from NCRC in order to take the Korean Missing Persons DNA Test at a Korean Consulate in your Western Country of Adoption.
Please NOTE: It may take MONTHS to get your “NCRC Certificate” from NCRC, so please take this into account if you plan to take the Korean Police Missing Persons DNA Test at a Korean Consulate in your Western Country of Adoption.
*For IMPORTANT INFORMATION about the “Adoption Certificate” and “NCRC Certificate” please see the section titled:
“Korean Police “Missing Persons” DNA Database: Test in Korea or at a Foreign Consulate In Your Home Country.”
on the DNA Testing page.
*Update - September 30th, 2024:
Please Note that we have heard a report from an Adoptee that Police Departments may or may not comply with these 2024 revisions. We STRONGLY RECOMMEND that you print the documents below when you go to a Korean Police Station OR to a Korean Consulate in your Western country of adoption to try to take a DNA Test:
Notice of partial revision of the "2024 Adoption Practice Manual":
https://opengov.seoul.go.kr/sanction/31499550
2024 Adoption Practice Manual Partial Revision Before and After Comparison
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Good News! As of August 1st, 2024, the Korean Police Missing Person’s DNA Test opens up to more Korean Adoptees Worldwide!
Meaning Korean Adoptees who match the following criteria CAN take the Korean Missing Persons DNA test, at either a Police Station in Korea, or at a Korean Consulate in your Western Country of Adoption:
1. If you are a Korean Adoptee who is considered a “Missing Person”.
(Prior to August 1st, 2024, this has been the ONLY criteria which was accepted for Korean Adoptees to take the Korean Missing Persons DNA test. NOW NEW CRITERIA below qualify Korean Adoptees to take this test at a Police Station in Korea or at a Korean Consulate in your Western Country of Adoption):
2. If your adoption files contains inaccurate birth parent information. This includes children adopted by (Adoption Agency) Guardianship and through a Family Court judgment, who were referred for adoption by someone other than their biological parents, such as a child welfare facility director (Adoption Agency Director or social worker) or non-birth parent relative (such as biological grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle, cousin, etc).
If the adoption record is missing all information about the birth mother and father, or if they cannot be identified due to misinformation.
3. If the identity or location of the Adoptee's biological parents cannot be determined.
- When the first search on Public Information Sharing System (likely used by Korean Adoption Agencies when a Korean Adoptee first requests a birth family search) and the second local government search conducted by the National Center for the Rights of the Child (NCRC) fail to locate both the biological father and the biological mother.
- If only one record (information) exists for either the biological father or the biological mother, and the National Center for the Rights of the Child's (NCRC’s) inquiry was unable to locate the person.
* The Adoptee will need to provide a supporting document: For example a letter of findings provided at the conclusion of an Adoption Information Disclosure Request (NCRC letter sent to the Adoptee after a birth family search request).
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To Summarize:
If the information contained within a Korean Adoptee’s adoption records is clearly falsified, a Korean Adoptee can take the Korean Missing Person’s DNA test at a Police Station in Korea or at a Korean Consulate in their Western Country of Adoption.
If your Korean Adoption Agency or NCRC cannot find your birth parents after you have made a birth family search, then you can take the Korean Missing Person’s DNA test at a Police Station in Korea or at a Korean Consulate in their Western Country of Adoption.
This means that very few Korean Adoptees should be excluded from taking the Korean Missing Person’s DNA test at a Police Station in Korea or at a Korean Consulate in their Western Country of Adoption.
Only in cases where the biological parents told the Korean Adoption Agency or NCRC that they did not want their data to be included in the Korean Missing Person’s DNA test could a Korean Adoptee be declined to take the test.
This is effective worldwide as of August 1st, 2024.
Reference Documents:
Notice of partial revision of the "2024 Adoption Practice Manual":
https://opengov.seoul.go.kr/sanction/31499550
2024 Adoption Practice Manual Partial Revision Before and After Comparison