The National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee passed a revised bill on Thursday introducing a system designed to prevent newborns from going unregistered with the state.

The system mandates medical institutions to notify local governments of birth information via the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service in an effort to ensure that no child is left unregistered by parents that deliberately refuse to declare their birth.

Efforts to pass the revised bill gained speed after a series of cases in which unregistered children were killed or abandoned came to light, sparking public outrage.

Once the revised bill is put into effect, heads of medical institutions must notify the health care service assessor of information on a birth within 14 days, with implementation expected one year after the revision is promulgated in order to set up the system in medical institutions.

Meanwhile, committee members of both the ruling and opposition parties stressed the need to wrap up legislative efforts to introduce a system protecting newborns before the notification system takes effect.

The lawmakers believe the two systems need to start simultaneously given an expected increase in off-the-radar births once the notification system is enforced.

Under the protective system, births are guarded anonymously by the state. A special law seeking to introduce the system is pending in the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee.