In brief
South Korea's landmark report highlights the exploitation of children in the adoption system, urging a formal apology to those affected.
In a significant step towards reconciliation, South Korea has officially admitted to its past adoption malpractices. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission revealed on Wednesday that adoption agencies involved in sending children abroad—primarily to America and Europe—often falsified documents to make children appear more adoptable, presenting them as orphans even when they had known parents. Many South Korean adoptees, now adults, have been actively campaigning for acknowledgment of these injustices. The commission described how children were handled “like luggage” during the adoption process, emphasizing the lack of oversight that allowed such exploitation to flourish. Legal guardianship was signed away to agency heads without proper checks, with some children being substituted in cases of infant deaths before overseas transfers.This report marks the first official acknowledgment by the government of the extensive irregularities surrounding overseas adoptions in a country that has sent around 200,000 children abroad since the Korean War. The commission calls for a formal apology for the violation of the rights of South Korean adoptees, many of whom are now returning to their homeland to address these injustices. Historically, in the aftermath of the Korean War, South Korea promoted international adoption as a solution for orphaned or abandoned children, while neglecting to establish a robust domestic welfare system to support them.
