A couple’s attempt to adopt their granddaughter to pave the way for their daughter’s marriage was barred by the Supreme Court on Sunday.

The confusion the child will undergo after the adoption is graver issue than whether her biological mother has a smooth marriage procedure, Justice Min Young-il said in upholding a lower court’s decision.

The ruling is expected to set standards for the adoption of blood relatives, which became increasingly popular after a law was enforced in 2008 deleting all past records of biological parents and foster families of the adoptive children.

According to the court file, the couple identified by their family name Lee has been taking care of their 5-year-old granddaughter since 2006, when their daughter and her boyfriend split right after the baby’s birth. The cou­ple thought that the child born out of wedlock would be an obstacle for the daughter’s future relationship with another man and decided to adopt the child to let the daughter start a new life.

The request was rejected by local and high courts.

Min said the amount of stress caused to the child would be immense.

“Her grandparents will become the parents and her mother will become the sister in no time. When the child learns about the abnormal family relations, she will be shocked. In the case of adoption, the first thing considered is the welfare of the child,” he said.

“The plaintiffs have no trouble in raising the granddaughter in the current status and it should be maintained.” 

By Bae Ji-sook  (baejisook@heraldcorp.com)