Ⅴ. Family Environment and Alternative Care for Children
(Articles 5, 9~11, 18 (1) and (2), 19~21, 25, 27 (4) and 39)
1. Prohibition of Children's Separation from Their Parents (Article 9 of
CRC)
Female Inmates' Childcare within the Detention Facilities
48. According to Article 53, paragraph 1 of the Act on Penal Execution and
Treatment of Inmates in Correctional Institutions, female inmates may apply for care of
their children within the detention facilities, but they are allowed to bring up their
children only until they are 18 months old, unless in exceptional cases. Currently, four
female inmates at Cheongju Women's Correctional Institution, a detention facility
exclusively for female inmates, take care of their children within the Institution.
Although other detention facilities house female inmates, accurate information on their
in-facility childcare is not available. Article 79 of the Enforcement Ordinance of the Act
provides for designation and operation of the living room for childcare within the
detention facilities, but it simply deals with the space arrangement. The Act does not
include specific provisions on the treatment of children within the facilities, in physical,
emotional and educational terms.
49. The Government needs to have an accurate understanding about the
female inmates who are taking care of their children within the detention facilities
and the environmental conditions of childcare, and draw up specific measures for
the in-facility childcare that give the highest priority to the best interest of the
children and write the measures into law.
2. Securing the Recovery of Maintenance for the Child (Article 27 (4) of
CRC) (CRC/C/KOR/3-4, para. 210, 211 and 231~233; CRC/C/KOR/Q/3-4,
para. 47)
50. With the revision of the Family Litigation Act in 2009, the system for
property statement and property inquiry was established for the cases claiming division
of property, support allowance and child support. The Government also introduced the
Order for Direct Payment of Child Support, which, upon an application by a child
support obligee, directly pays child support to the child support obligee by deducting
the child support regularly from a child support obligor's salary if the child support
obligor fails to pay the child support (CRC/C/KOR/Q/3-4, para. 47). If the parents fail
to reach an agreement on childrearing matters including child support, however, the
children may be left without support care. In this light, the Government should seek
measures to secure substantial child care support.
13