On June 24, 2025, the National Court Administration celebrated the "10th Anniversary of Family Register Office for Overseas Koreans" in Conference Room 401 at the Supreme Court.

Since its establishment on July 1, 2015, Family Register Office for Overseas Koreans (hereinafter, "the Office") has significantly contributed to improving convenience and safeguarding the rights of overseas Koreans by swiftly and accurately processing family relations registration applications submitted through diplomatic missions worldwide.

The commemorative event brought together key figures from within and outside the judiciary, including the Minister of National Court Administration CHUN Daeyup, Vice Commissioner Byun Chul-hwan of the Overseas Koreans Agency, Senior Vice President of the Korean Bar Association Lee Jae-heon, and President of the Korean Association of Beommusa Lawyers (Judicial Scrivenerq) Lee Kang-cheon, along with representatives from vital government agencies such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Overseas Koreans Agency, the Ministry of Justice, and local registration agencies. The event consisted of two parts: Part 1, "10 Years with Overseas Koreans," celebrated the Office's achievements over the past 10 years since its inception, while Part 2, “A Future Together with Overseas Koreans," served as a platform where experts discussed diverse opinions on the Office's future directions.

In his opening speech, Minister CHUN Daeyup underscored that "the Office's establishment in 2015 marked a historic milestone for the judiciary, diligently upholding the nation's constitutional duty to protect overseas Koreans by ensuring the prompt and precise handling of family relations registration. He emphasized that "the connection of systems between the National Court Administration and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has significantly shortened the processing time for family relations registration, greatly enhancing the convenience for overseas Koreans." Minister CHUN also requested that “In order to inspire greater pride in overseas Koreans as citizens of the Republic of Korea, recognized by Forbes in 2025 as the world's 6th strongest economy, the Korean judiciary must strive to integrate the next-generation electronic case filing system and future registration system, completed in 2025, into the Office's operations." This integration, he emphasized, is crucial for "meeting overseas Koreans’ diverse needs and protecting their rights in the digital age, which will require not only stronger collaboration with related agencies such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Overseas Koreans Agency, the Ministry of Justice, and local registration agencies, but also substantial improvements to the existing linked systems."

Vice Commissioner Byun Chul-hwan of the Overseas Koreans Agency, delivered a congratulatory speech, emphasizing that "since its opening in 2015, the Office has played a vital role in assisting overseas Koreans in registering their family relations abroad, thereby guaranteeing their legal status as citizens of the Republic of Korea." 

Chief LEE Kook Hyun of the Registration Bureau of the National Court Administration presented the Office’s major achievements: "The introduction of an electronic transmission system has reduced the average processing time for case registration from three months to one week." He also noted that "dispatch of an increased number of judicial officials to diplomatic missions has sped up case processing." He further explained that "as the Office has continuously strengthened its role as a specialized agency, it processed over 98% of all family registration cases for overseas Koreans as of 2024." Additionally, "by preparing standardized operational manuals and producing and distributing educational videos for practitioners at diplomatic missions, the Office has significantly improved its on-site responsiveness and work accuracy. Not only that, the Office runs both Korean and English websites to enhance access for overseas Koreans to the informative resources and has expanded direct communication with them through the 1:1 inquiry service on the website.”

In Part 2, experts presented various opinions regarding the Office's development initiatives:

Judge Choi Eun-jung from Seoul High Court proposed to build an “Integrated International Family Relations Registration Center.” (Tentative). Judge Choi suggested that a unified center for international family relations registration be established under the Registration Bureau of the National Court Administration by consolidating the existing Office for Overseas Koreans with a Foreign Children’s Birth Registration Office (tentative) for foreign childrenresideing in Korea. This is because she recognizes the issue that, as the current birth registration system is limited to "nationals," thousands of foreign children are excluded (including stateless ones), and she recognized the need to come up with a birth registration system for the estimated thousands of unregistered foreign children.

Professor Hyun Jin Kim from Inha University Law School argued for the Innovation of certificate management. She emphasized the growing need for managing certificates of identification and family relations for three reasons: 1) a growing number of international marriages and transnational movement is bringing various types of certificates of identification and family relations; 2) the challenges posed by varying national document formats, languages, and legal systems, which lead to a lack of unified interpretation standards; 3) the lack of familiarity of those who are in charge of family relations registration for international procedures. To resolve these issues, she proposed developing an accessible internal IT platform for practitioners, analyzing document types to identify standardized features, and building an online system to systematically store and classify country-specific document formats, terminology, and statutory requirements.

Deputy Director Jeong Jeong-hyeok from the Family Register Office for Overseas Koreans of the National Court Administration presented future directions and plans for the Office. To enhance the reliability of family relations registration services, establish a judicial cooperation system, and provide future-oriented judicial services, Deputy Director Jeong proposed the systematic training and deployment of qualified personnel, strengthening global networks, and building an AI-based integrated family relations registration system. 

Deputy Director Kwak Young-seop, who is serving as a lecturer for Practices for Family Relations Registration at the Training Institute for Court Officials, suggested an increase in the number of judicial officials dispatched to diplomatic missions. The purpose is to directly handle cases of family relations registration and issue certificates by type, provide legal consultations, reduce workload for diplomatic missions, and elevate the stature of both the judiciary and diplomatic missions.

The event also included a special celebratory performance by the "Woori Multicultural Children's Choir," funded by the Woori Multicultural Scholarship Foundation, which shares joy and hope as bright and healthy members of Korean society, overcoming cultural and linguistic differences. Concluding the event, the Director of the Office extended gratitude to all participating representatives from relevant agencies, affirming that "this 10-year journey is a precious product of our commitment and we pledge to continue evolving into an even more trusted family relations registration agency with your unwavering interest and support."

This commemorative ceremony is meaningful in that it provides an opportunity to raise public awareness about the importance of family relations registration for overseas Koreans, to contribute to protecting the rights and promoting the convenience of 2.5 million overseas Koreans based on cooperation between relevant agencies,to faithfully play a role of bridging overseas Koreans and the Republic of Korea, and to continuously provide family relations registration services in line with the demands of the digital age.