Multiple violations were unearthed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission on Adoption of Korean Children by Foreigners.
An investigation by the South Korean Truth and Reconciliation Commission concluded that the foreign adoption program, approved by the country’s government, violated the fundamental human rights of adoption, guaranteed under the constitution and international treaties.
The committee’s findings were released on Wednesday after a nearly three-year investigation into complaints filed by 367 of the roughly 140,000 Korean children adopted by six countries, including Denmark.
The committee found that local adoption agencies conspired with foreign agencies to export large quantities of Korean children to meet monthly quotas set by foreign demand. Among many violations, many children were procured for adoption through suspicious or complete non-cruel measures.
The report reveals that South Korean institutions were recognized for widespread authority over children, including full guardianship and the ability to agree to foreign adoptions, leading to a lack of surveillance, which ultimately resulted in the loss of identity and family background, leading to large-scale adoption of fake or manufactured children.
“Through this process, many legal and policy shortcomings have emerged, leading to serious violations of adopters’ rights, their biological parents, especially birth mothers,” said Park Sang-Yong, chairman of the committee, at a press conference on Tuesday.
“These violations should never have happened,” Park said.
“Many adopters were lucky enough to grow up in loving families, but suffered great challenges and trauma due to flaws in the adoption process. Many continue to face challenges today,” she said.
Following the devastating 1950-53 Korean War, South Korea became one of the poorest countries in the world, and for economic reasons, “international recruitment was actively encouraged as a solution,” Park explained.
“This ‘active’ approach, combined with South Korea’s infamous ‘hurry’ culture, has led to an inadequately developed legal framework and hastened the administrative procedures,” she said.
Park emphasized that foreign adoptive parents were found to be inappropriate to raise children by foreign authorities. As a result, many years of legal proceedings have been taken away as adoptive parents in courts overseas. Other serious offences excavated by the report included the adoptive children being given false identities.
“If a child in the adoption process dies or is reclaimed by a biological family, the agency replaces the identity of another child to promote adoption and violates the right to adoption strictly against the true identity,” the report states.
Based on the findings, the committee recommended that the government issue official apology and organize remedies for those affected, and requested that the government ratify the Hague Convention on Child Protection and Cooperation on International Adoption.
South Korea’s Ministry of Health and Human Services, which handles adoption issues, did not immediately comment on the report, and the government has not recognized direct responsibility for issues surrounding past foreign adoptions.
Some adopted children also criticized the report, saying they have not yet established government accomplices strongly and that their recommendations are too weak.