effectiveness of the service.305) However, as of 2020, about half of the cities and provinces
do not operate an agency dedicated to independence support, and considering the number of
youths preparing for independence per manager, even in the regions with a dedicated agency
have difficulty managing individual youths, including follow-up management.
On the other hand, the issue of children leaving facilities who are in the blind spot of the
system is also raised. The current independence support services for youths discussed the
cases of discharge after completing the protection period, and this is a support based on the
Child Welfare Act. However, there is no provision to support those who return to their
homes or leave the facilities without permission during the protection period. In August of
this year, a young person was excluded from the support policy with a difference of only
about 15 days, which shows that blind spots can still occur.306)
C) Tasks to Protect the Human Rights of Youths Preparing for Independence
(Children Discharged from Out-of-Home Care)
Children are in need of protection due to the nature of their development. The right of
children to receive special protection and support is repeatedly emphasized through the full
text of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 24 of the UN Covenant on Civil
Rights, and Article 10 of the UN Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The
child protection system in which the national and local governments protect children by
separating them from their parents is the obligation of the state to guarantee the children's
right to be protected, but the children protected in this way need more special protection and
support in the process of growing up. It is necessary to keep in mind the point that a society
with a weak foundation for children subject to protection to stand on its own in society
is a society that neglects human rights violations that are foreseeable to the socially
underprivileged.
One of the strongest support systems before or after a person becomes independent is the
family, but the average period of care outside the home is 12 years for the children
305) In some cases, the reason for losing contact is of their own choice to forget that they were children under
protection, but there are other cases of unable to obtain information or lethargic psychological state, etc.
306) Kookmin Ilbo, “No One Provided Protection,” Leaving Early Leading to More Difficult Independence, Sep. 22, 2022.
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