South Korean inquiry to look into 237 more foreign adoptions suspected to have laundered origins

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South Korea’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission announced on Thursday its intention to probe an additional 237 cases of South Korean adoptees who suspect their family backgrounds were manipulated to facilitate their adoptions in Europe and the United States.

These newly identified cases, which fall under the commission’s expanded investigation into South Korea’s foreign adoption surge, involve adoptees residing in 11 countries, including the United States, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. These individuals were adopted between 1960 and 1990. Last year, over 300 adoptees from Europe, North America, and Australia filed applications urging the commission to investigate their cases.

The majority of the applicants allege that their adoptions were based on fabricated documents that altered their status or origins, aiming to ensure their suitability for adoption and expedite the transfer of custody across international borders. Some applicants have also requested the commission to look into instances of abuse they claim to have suffered while in South Korean orphanages or under the care of their foreign adoptive parents.

In December, when the commission initially announced its plan to investigate 34 cases, it revealed that the records of many adoptees sent to the West had clearly been tampered with, falsely presenting them as orphans or assuming false identities using someone else’s details.

If the commission uncovers substantial evidence, it could potentially pave the way for adoptees to pursue legal action against adoption agencies or the government. This would otherwise be challenging since South Korean civil courts place the burden of proof entirely on the plaintiffs, who often lack the necessary information and resources.

Over the past six decades, approximately 200,000 South Koreans, predominantly girls, have been adopted into Western countries, creating what is believed to be the largest diaspora of adoptees worldwide. During the 1970s and ’80s, a significant number of these adoptees were placed with white parents in the United States and Europe. At that time, South Korea was under a series of military dictatorships, which prioritized economic growth and viewed adoptions as a means to reduce the population and address the “social problem” of unwed mothers, while also strengthening ties with democratic nations in the West.

Under these military regimes, special laws were implemented to encourage foreign adoptions, allowing adoption agencies to bypass proper procedures for child relinquishment. This resulted in thousands of children being sent to the West each year during the peak of these adoptions. Although many of these adoptees had identifiable or locatable relatives, they were often registered by agencies as abandoned orphans found on the streets. This practice has made it extremely challenging, if not impossible, for adoptees to trace their roots.

It was not until 2013 that the South Korean government required foreign adoptions to undergo family court proceedings, putting an end to decades of policies that allowed agencies to dictate child relinquishments and international transfers of custody.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about South Korean foreign adoptions, origins manipulation

More about South Korean foreign adoptions, origins manipulation

• South Korea’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission
• International Korean Adoptee Associations
• The Guardian: South Korean adoptions
• New York Times: South Korea to Investigate Suspected Abuses in Foreign Adoptions