Birth Mothers Harmed by Overseas Adoption Speak Out: "Government Negligence Must Be Thoroughly Investigated"

Birth Mothers Harmed by Overseas Adoption File Petition with TRC
Call for Dedicated Investigative Body on Forged Documents and Human Rights Violations

The Coalition for the Truth and Accountability on Overseas Adoption and Children's Rights (hereinafter TRACE) submitted a petition for truth-finding on behalf of five birth mothers who suffered harm due to overseas adoption to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (hereinafter TRC) on May 8.

This petition is the second round, following the request for truth-finding submitted in March by five mixed-race overseas adoptees. Families victimized by kidnapping, child abduction by relatives, deception by adoption agencies, forged documents, and unauthorized overseas adoptions have come forward.

▲ Interior view of the chartered plane that carried overseas adoptees

During a press conference held in front of the TRC, the five mothers appeared holding framed photos of their children who were adopted overseas. One of the daughters, who had never met her mother even once, recently passed away. Other stories shared included a mother who managed to meet her son, who had been sent to the United States under a changed name; a mother who entrusted her child to an orphanage only to later discover the child had been suddenly adopted to France; and a mother who confirmed that her kidnapped child had been falsely recorded as abandoned at a hospital.

At the event, Ms. Han Tae-soon, a mother whose child went missing at the age of five, was adopted to the United States after nine months, and was reunited after 44 years through a DNA test by KAMRA, attended to support mothers who have not yet been reunited with their children. Ms. Han is currently filing a lawsuit and fighting in court to hold the state and the adoption agency accountable for sending her missing child overseas by falsely registering the child as an orphan.

The Single Mothers’ Family Association also testified about how single mothers were pressured into handing over their babies for adoption in the past. At that time, adoption agencies directly operated shelters for single mothers and required pregnant women to sign a waiver of parental rights in exchange for financial support for childbirth. Stories were also shared of mothers who, fearing the loss of their children, secretly fled the facilities after being threatened with exorbitant 'child-rearing fees' if they changed their minds and tried to reclaim their children.

TRACE demanded a thorough investigation into the fabrication of documents and illegal adoption practices by adoption agencies; a nationwide investigation into all overseas adoptions carried out without the consent of both birth parents; the immediate establishment of a dedicated body to investigate human rights violations related to overseas adoption and institutional care; an official apology from the government of the Republic of Korea to victimized mothers and overseas adoptees; and the establishment of a formal support system to facilitate reunions between affected parents and their children adopted overseas.

TRACE stated, "The state and adoption agencies took children away and turned a blind eye to child abduction. False records were filled in to cover up the void left behind," adding, "TRACE will not stop until the truth is revealed and those responsible are held accountable."

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