South Korean governments have committed decades of human rights abuses in a program that sent at least 170 000 children, including infants, abroad for adoption.
This is stated in the investigation of the independent Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
The report found a lack of government oversight that allowed for the “mass export of children” by profit-driven private agencies, with cases of fraud, falsified records, and coercion.
Since the 1950s, South Korea has sent more children abroad for adoption than any other country, many of whom ended up in Western countries.
Seoul has since tightened its adoption rules, but some adoptees and their biological parents say they still feel the effects of the process.
"While many adoptees were fortunate to grow up in loving families, there were also those who suffered great hardship and trauma due to improper adoption processes. Even today, many continue to face problems," said the commissionʼs chairwoman Park Sang Yeon.
Since the Commission began its work in 2022, 367 adoptees who were sent abroad between 1964 and 1999 have filed petitions with it. They allege fraud in the adoption process.
So far, the Commission has analyzed about 100 applications, according to which 56 adoptees were recognized as victims of human rights violations.
After the Korean War, South Korea was one of the poorest countries in the world, and few people wanted to adopt children. The government then launched an international adoption program, which was overseen by private agencies, who were given broad powers through special laws.
However, the report notes that the system for overseeing this process was weak, leading to numerous violations by the agencies. Foreign agencies demanded a certain number of children each month, and Korean agencies complied with these requirements — with violations and minimal oversight.
Due to the lack of government regulation of adoption fees, Korean agencies charged high rates and demanded “charitable contributions”. This turned the adoption process into a profitable business.
Among the violations were adoptions without proper consent from biological parents and improper vetting of adoptive parents. Agencies also fabricated reports in which children were allegedly abandoned by their parents.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommended that the government apologize and adhere to international standards for transnational adoption.
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