Seoul: A Korean national and a foreign spouse have been allowed to register the birth of their baby in South Korea without a limit on the baby's name length, according to the Supreme Court on Tuesday. This change marks a significant update to the country's family registration regulations.
According to Yonhap News Agency, previously, names longer than five characters could only be registered if a child born to a foreign father and a Korean mother followed the father's surname and was registered in the father's national registry. This created challenges for families wishing to register longer names that reflected their cultural heritage.
With the revision to the family registration regulations coming into effect last Friday, children born to a Korean father and a foreign mother will now also be able to register their names as listed in the mother's national registry, regardless of the length of their names and the surname they choose to take. This means that names such as "Alexandria" or "Areumdaunjisu" can be officially registered in South Korea exactly as they appear in the foreign registry.
The Supreme Court has also stated that those who have already registered their children's births can submit additional documents to align the name listed in the foreign registry with the South Korean registry. Traditionally, Korean names have consisted of three characters, with a one-character surname followed by a two-character given name, but this update allows for greater flexibility in name registration.