The government has announced mid- to long-term goals to phase out overseas adoption of the nation’s children.

The decision was included in the Ministry of Health and Welfare's updated five-year child policy plan that was finalized on Friday.

In July, the government introduced a public adoption system managed by the central and local governments, and officially became a contracting party to the Hague Intercountry Adoption Convention aimed at safeguarding children's rights in intercountry adoptions in October.

Seoul will seek to suspend overseas adoptions as a mid- to long-term goal, and in cases where a child's adoption to a foreign country is inevitable, the health ministry will consult necessary procedures with its counterparts and related agencies in that country.

The government will also oversee management of the foster care system, such as expanding state support for foster families and increasing foster parents' legal rights over the child.

President Lee Jae Myung in October apologized for the rights abuses that South Korean-born adoptees often had to suffer due to poorly managed adoption programs.