Missing at Age 5 and Adopted in the US... Reunited with Family After 40 Years Through DNA Testing

Reunion with Biological Family through Genetic Testing System for Unclaimed Overseas Adoptees

"I'm going to find Mom and come back." A 5-year-old child who was adopted to the United States after going missing was reunited with his biological family through a DNA test after 40 years.

Benjamin Park (Korean name Park Dongsu), a Korean American adoptee reunited with his biological family after 40 years [Photo by Overseas Koreans Agency]

The National Police Agency, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for Overseas Koreans, and the Child Rights Protection Agency announced on the 18th that Benjamin Park (Korean name Park Dongsu, 45), who was adopted to the United States, met his biological family including his mother, Ms. Lee (83), through the 'Unclaimed Overseas Adoptee DNA Testing System.'

Ms. Lee temporarily entrusted her four children, including Park, to a relative's house in Gimhae, Gyeongnam Province in 1980. In 1984, when Park was 5 years old, he left home saying he would find his mother but went missing. He was unable to return home and was placed in care facilities and adoption agencies before being adopted to the United States in 1985.

After becoming an adult, Park visited Korea twice to search for his separated family members. While attending a university in the United States in 2001, he visited Korea and sought out the adoption agency but could not find any clues to locate his family and returned to the U.S. Later, in 2012, he re-entered Korea, attended the language institute at Keimyung University, and registered his DNA at a police station. However, no matching DNA was found at that time, and he returned to the U.S. in 2016 after four years.

Park’s eldest brother living in Korea, Park Jinsu, filed a missing person report with the police around October 2021, hoping to find his missing siblings. When filing the report, they collected their mother’s DNA and registered it with the police. In August 2022, the National Forensic Service issued a report stating that there was a high possibility that Park Dongsu and Ms. Lee were biologically related.

From then on, the police collaborated with related government agencies to locate Park. The only information the police had was the email address Park used while attending the language institute in 2012. With the cooperation of immigration authorities, the police confirmed Park’s past residence in the U.S., and with the help of the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea in Chicago, they identified his current whereabouts.

After a second DNA test by the National Forensic Service, it was finally confirmed in February that Park and Ms. Lee were biologically related, leading to a family reunion after 40 years. Park said, "The joy of reuniting with my biological family is indescribable," and expressed deep gratitude to the Korean government for helping him find his family. His older brother, Park Jinsu, said, "I prayed every day for my younger brother to be found as soon as possible, and thanks to the DNA testing system, my wish came true," and appealed, "Please help us find our younger sister Jinmi (47), who is still missing."

Since 2020, the government has been implementing a DNA testing system that collects DNA from unclaimed overseas Korean adoptees and compares it with the families of missing persons in Korea. DNA collection is available at 34 overseas diplomatic missions in 14 countries including the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany. Through this system, five missing adoptees have found their families so far.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.