Korea has been cited by the U.S. State Department as “noncompliant” with its obligations under the Hague Abduction Convention, and the U.S. Special Advisor for Children's Issues in the State Department's Bureau of Consular Affairs met with Korea's Ministry of Justice today, December 7, 2022, to address the problem.
In July 2022, the U.S. Embassy in Seoul delivered a diplomatic protest known as a “demarche” to Korea's Deputy Foreign Minister, citing Korea's failure to comply with its treaty obligations.
The specific cited problem is that 50% of U.S. requests for the return of children abducted from the U.S. remained unresolved for more than 12 months.
A likely unanticipated consequence of Korea's failure to comply with the Hague Convention is that it will make it significantly more difficult for a Korean parent living in the United States (or, presumably, in any other country) to take a child to visit family in Korea if the non-traveling parent objects. If such issues are brought before a court in the United States, a judge who is presented with expert evidence concerning the difficulties of securing the return of children from Korea will necessarily be most concerned that the child will be retained in Korea and that it will be difficult or impossible to secure the child's return.
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Jeremy Morley has provided expert evidence on such issues concerning Korea to courts in the United States.