The Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Korea confirms widespread adoption fraud, urging the government to apologize for the exploitation of children sent abroad. This marks a significant moment in addressing the country's controversial legacy regarding international adoptions.
South Korea Confronts Dark Adoption History with Official Acknowledgment
South Korea Confronts Dark Adoption History with Official Acknowledgment
A truth commission's report shed light on South Korea’s adoption malpractices, recommending accountability and apologies for decades of exploitation.
In a landmark development, South Korea's Truth and Reconciliation Commission publicly acknowledged on Wednesday that adoption agencies engaged in extensive malpractices while facilitating international adoptions, particularly to the United States and Europe. The commission's findings reveal systemic issues dating back several decades, where children were treated more like commodities than human beings.
The report outlines egregious actions taken by these agencies, including the fabrication of documentation to ensure children were presented as orphans when they were not. Disturbingly, in cases where babies died prior to their overseas departures, other infants were sometimes substituted in their stead. The investigation also highlighted the alarming practice of granting four private adoption agencies the authority to legally sign away children's rights, all for the financial benefit of adopting families.
This inquiry's release is a pivotal moment for South Korean adoptees who have long fought for recognition and accountability. Many of these individuals, now adults, have returned to their native country, demanding acknowledgment of the damages wrought by past adoption policies. The commission's recommendation for a formal state apology for the violation of rights emphasizes the troubling history that has affected roughly 200,000 South Korean children since the Korean War's conclusion in 1953.
Historically, in an effort to deal with the socioeconomic challenges of postwar South Korea, the government encouraged overseas adoptions instead of developing robust welfare systems to care for orphaned or abandoned children domestically. With this recent report, there is hope for reconciliation and healing, as South Korea begins to confront the painful realities of its adoption practices that have scarred many lives.
