The Ministry of Justice provided guidelines allowing Kopinos (children born from a Korean father and a Filipino mother) and other foreign children born out of wedlock who have received recognition of paternity to easily enter South Korea. This is the first time that the government has set up measures on the issue of Kopinos. The latest action is assessed as the first step toward resolving the problem of out-of-wedlock children of foreign mothers, such as Kopinos.

On October 18, the Ministry of Justice announced, "If a foreign out-of-wedlock child with recognition of paternity from the court and her guardian seeks to enter South Korea for administrative procedures, such as the acquisition of nationality, the government plans to provide relevant guidelines for departments to easily issue visas." The ministry further said, "We plan to set up guidelines that will allow them to have visas issued through diplomatic missions overseas without the cooperation of the father for his documents, such as a certificate of family relations, which is required when acquiring the South Korean nationality."

The main purpose of the guidelines is to allow foreign children born out of wedlock who have acquired recognition of paternity to obtain visas so long as there are no special issues, such as a criminal record. Citizens of "developing countries," such as the Philippines, have had difficulties obtaining a visa even when they received recognition of paternity. South Korean courts requested Kopinos filing for recognition of paternity to appear in court, but some were unable to attend because they were not granted a visa, because of a strict screening process, which required them to prove their economic capability and present their inviter when applying for the visa. The latest measure by the justice ministry was intended to eliminate the process of having to demonstrate one's economic abilities.

It is also hard for Kopinos to submit documents concerning the father, such as the father's certificate of family relations, which is essential when applying for Korean nationality. Most fathers of Kopinos refuse to cooperate when their children seek recognition of paternity and South Korean nationality. It is rare for Korean fathers of Kopinos to hand over documents like his own certificate of family relations to the Kopinos. Many Kopinos failed to acquire South Korean nationality because they could not submit documents related to the Korean fathers even after winning lawsuits. The Dream Come True Association, a foundation for Kopinos, identified 58 cases where Kopinos were granted recognition of paternity in court in the past five years, from 2014 to recently, but among these cases, only four obtained South Korean nationality. The Kyunghyang Shinmun covered this problem in a feature article titled "Forgotten Kopinos" (published on September12, 19 and October 7).

An official from the justice ministry said, "In the past, the documents (concerning the father) could be issued through overseas missions, but there was confusion due to a lack of guidelines." He added, "We will improve the guidelines and distribute them (to the embassies) as early as this year."

Jeong Jin-nam, head of the Dream Come True Association said, "The absence of clear guidelines led to many cases where the people could not obtain South Korean nationality despite having received recognition of paternity, because they were unable to prepare all the documents and because the fathers refused to cooperate." He further said, "When the guidelines are distributed, it will be a great help for the Kopinos seeking South Korean nationality."