The way relationships between the head of household and household members are recorded will change on resident registration copies and abstracts so that the fact that a family is remarried is not exposed to outsiders.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said on the 12th that it will give advance notice of legislation for amendments to the enforcement decree and enforcement rule of the Resident Registration Act on the 13th.
Under the amendment, parents, grandparents, siblings, and children who are not the spouse of the head of household will be recorded as "household members." Others will be recorded as "cohabitants."
Currently, for a family that remarried after divorce while raising a child, the resident registration copy or abstract states "spouse's child." Because of this, submitting documents to outside parties could reveal the divorce and remarriage. Going forward, however, both the head of household's biological children and the spouse's children will be recorded the same as "household members."
However, if the applicant requests, the copy or abstract can show detailed family relationships under the existing notation.
The Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) also allowed both a foreigner's Korean-name spelling and Roman-alphabet spelling to be recorded on the resident registration copy. Until now, foreigners' names appeared in Korean on family relationship registration documents, and only in Roman letters on resident registration copies.
Because of this, many noted it was difficult to prove that the persons listed on the two certificates were the same. Going forward, both the Korean-name spelling and Roman-alphabet spelling will be recorded on the copy, which is expected to make identity verification more convenient.