Press Release | TRC Releases Its Interim Findings

South Korea Recognises Systematic Human Rights Violations in International Adoptions

Extensive violations of human rights have been uncovered in South Korea's international adoption practices. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission demands a formal state apology and groundbreaking reforms to restore adoptees' lost identities and rights.

In a landmark decision, South Korea’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission has determined that the nation’s international adoption practices resulted in serious human rights abuses impacting thousands of adoptees. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission highlights that the state’s prioritisation of international adoption over developing domestic child welfare led to systematic falsifications and identity theft, leaving adoptees with no access to information about their origins.

“The Commission’s findings confirm our longstanding suspicions of widespread falsifications and manipulation in the adoption processes. This revelation compels both the Korean state, receiving countries, and adoption agencies to take responsibility and address the severe violations of human rights and laws endured by adoptees for decades,” said Peter Møller, co-founder and leader of the Danish Korean Rights Group, an adoptee advocacy organization that called for the investigation years ago.

Through a comprehensive two-year investigation, the Commission documented how children were falsely registered as orphans or given fraudulent identities before being sent to foreign families. The state delegated the entire adoption process to private agencies without sufficient oversight, enabling extensive violations of both South Korean constitutional law and international conventions.

Recommendations from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has concluded that the long-standing practices surrounding international adoptions neglected the state’s duty to protect fundamental constitutional principles and international human rights. Consequently, the Commission has made the following recommendations:

• A formal apology from the state.

• Investigation into adoptees’ citizenship statuses and implementation of measures ensuring their legal recognition as citizens.

• Compensation and other support for victims of identity falsifications.

• Improvements to the systems granting access to adoption records.

• Substantial support measures for reunions between adoptees and their biological families.

• Swift ratification of the Hague Convention on International Adoption.

• Actions by adoption agencies to restore the rights of adoptees.

This decision represents a crucial turning point in South Korea’s history, calling on the state to take responsibility and restore the rights of the children who were sent abroad.

“The work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission brings hope to adoptees across the globe and sets a new benchmark for accountability and human rights. Today is a day for celebration, but it is also the start of a larger effort. The Commission’s work marks the beginning of changes Danish adoptees initiated three years ago,” says Peter Møller.

He added: “This is a historic day where we finally witness the start of a process that will grant adoptees access to the truth about their origins. The Korean state must act decisively to implement these critical recommendations and ensure the prompt restoration of adoptees’ lost identities and rights.”

The Path to Reconciliation

The Commission’s statements clearly underscore the grave violations of both South Korean and international laws committed by adoption agencies, including Holt Korea and Holt International. 

The Danish Korean Rights Group (DKRG) and US Korean Rights Group (USKRG) strongly urge Holt and other adoption agencies involved to immediately comply with the Commission’s recommendations and South Korean law. “It is their legal and ethical duty to fully cooperate with Korean authorities and adhere to the international laws that were found to have been breached—laws that are designed to safeguard adoptees and their rights. Meaningful reconciliation depends on these agencies acting transparently and responsibly from now on,” says the USKRG leadership group.

“Together, we will work to ensure that the report’s findings are implemented meaningfully for the over 120,000 Korean adoptees living in the U.S.,” says Katrine Andersen, a Korean adoptee who co-founded USKRG. “We are committed to seeing justice done and want to ensure that those American adoptees from Korea wishing to learn about their origin stories are able to do so.”

“We want our Korean relatives who may have been searching for their lost children to know that we are OK,” said Yuh Koppel, a Korean adoptee who co-founded USKRG. “We want adoption agencies and those institutions responsible for looking the other way to be accountable and help mend the wounds and broken hearts. We are seeking genuine collaborations to facilitate seamless reestablishment of connections to our biological roots. We ask that every country involved in international adoptions look inward and ensure that no more children are wrongfully removed from their biological families.” 

The Korean commission’s inquiry into potential human rights violations in international adoptions has since prompted similar investigations in other countries, including Norway, Sweden, and France. 

Leaders at USKRG hope that all countries involved in international adoptions will follow up and investigate their roles in these extensive human rights violations, help ensure that the adoptees' lost identities and rights are restored, and that documents pertaining to the adoptees are not lost forever, We ask that the countries involved in our adoptions allow for korean adoptees to integrate their heritage through dual citizenship.

Final Conclusions Coming in April 

The South Korean Commission’s report outlines the preliminary findings regarding the first 56 individual adoption cases. The remaining just under 300 cases, along with the final report, are expected to be released by the end of April 2025.

Global Community of Adoptees

The USKRG encourages U.S. citizens originally adopted from Korea to join the USKRG Facebook community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/916235940534027.

On Friday March 28, USKRG and DKRG leaders will hold a virtual information meeting for active USKRG members, giving Korean Adoptees with US citizenship an opportunity to ask questions and understand the next steps towards reconciliation.

Contacts

Email the US Korean Rights Group (USKRG) representatives in USA and Canada at uskoreanrightsgroup@gmail.com

South Korea:Press contact: Ms. Boon Young Han: boonyoung.han@danishkorean.dk 

About U.S. Korean Rights Group (USKRG)

At the US Korean Rights Group (USKRG), we envision a world where all US Citizens who were adopted from Korea have the right to access their personal files and true backgrounds, fostering a deeper understanding of their identities and histories. We believe that every individual deserves transparency and connection to their roots. Furthermore we ask for the opportunity for our members wishing so to be able to obtain dual citizenship with Korea in order to acknowledge both our lost heritage and our adopted nation. Visit www.uskrg.com for more information.