South Korean government data on Wednesday showed that the number of newly adopted South Korean children fell for the third consecutive year in 2021 amid the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19).
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of new child adoptees reached 415 in 2021, down from 704 in 2019 and 492 in 2020.
Officials attributed the decrease in adoption to the effects of COVID-19.
Among the new adoptees, 189, or 45.5 per cent, were adopted by overseas families.
Of those, 66.7 per cent were sent to the United States.
Other destinations included Canada, Sweden, and Australia.
Of the overseas adoptees, 70.4 per cent were boys aged below 3.
According to data, 99.5 per cent of the children adopted by overseas households came from unmarried single parents.
The rate stood at 73.9 per cent for those adopted by families in South Korea.