[Forgotten Children]⑦"Illegal Overseas Adoptions Are 'Enforced Disappearance' Crimes... If Korea Fails to Act, the UN Will Intervene"

Interview with Peter Mueller and Bongyoung Han of Ppuri House
Case of Mr. Bern, Adopted to Denmark in 1976
Evidence Secured: "No Transfer to Busan Orphanage"
Criminal Complaint Filed Following Truth and Reconciliation Investigation

"The Korean government has stated that it will stop overseas adoptions by 2029, but from our perspective, this sounds like they intend to continue committing human rights violations until the end of 2028. If a decision has been made to stop, it must be stopped immediately. This is because as long as overseas adoptions continue, more cases of human rights violations will occur."

Peter Mueller, Co-CEO of Purie House, and activist Boonyoung Han are interviewing with The Asia Business Daily on the 23rd at their office in Buam-dong, Seoul. They hold online meetings day and night, including weekends, with overseas adoptees scattered around the world. Mr. Han said, "We have to communicate in a total of nine languages, including Korean, and consider 16 different time zones." Photo by Dongjoo Yoon

Peter Mueller, Co-CEO of Ppurie House, emphasized this point in an interview with The Asia Business Daily on the 23rd of last month, stating, "The history of overseas adoptions that has continued for over 70 years since the Korean War must be ended immediately." Ppurie House, a non-profit organization, has been carrying out projects for more than 20 years, including family searches for overseas adoptees, protection of their rights and interests, and international solidarity activities.

Mr. Mueller, who is also a lawyer and the head of the Danish Korean Rights Group (DKRG), has handled more than 4,000 overseas adoption cases during his four years in Korea. He has witnessed numerous human rights violations related to overseas adoptions, ranging from abuse and sexual violence by adoptive parents to falsification of adoption documents and allegations of child abduction and kidnapping. [Related Article = 174 Overseas Adoptees Speak: "Unable to Find Our Roots, Living as Foreigners"]

Although the Ministry of Health and Welfare declared in December last year that it would achieve zero overseas adoptions by 2029, considering the human rights violations faced by overseas adoptees scattered around the world, Mr. Mueller insisted that overseas adoptions should be stopped immediately.

He shared, with the individual's consent, the story of Joakim Fog Bern (Korean name Kim Youngsik), who was adopted from Korea to Denmark in 1976. "Mr. Bern believed for over 40 years that he was from Namgwang Orphanage in Busan because of falsified adoption documents prepared by Korea Social Service, the adoption agency. In reality, however, he was born in Seoul and had never been to Busan. He lived his whole life believing this fabricated story to be the truth." Despite Mr. Bern's repeated requests to be informed about his biological parents, Korea Social Service only replied that "personal information of birth families cannot be disclosed under the Adoption Act and the Personal Information Protection Act."

Mr. Mueller said, "Namgwang Orphanage is a state-linked orphanage located in Busan that has supplied children for overseas adoption. We have more than 100 cases related to Namgwang Orphanage alone," adding, "Korea Social Service and Namgwang Orphanage systematically falsified documents to facilitate overseas adoptions."

Mr. Bern lived registered as an 'abandoned child' from Busan, a city he had never actually visited, and now he does not even know whether his biological parents are alive. As of now, no one can clearly explain what process led to his overseas adoption. This case was determined to be a human rights violation by the second Truth and Reconciliation Commission in March last year, and Ppurie House filed a criminal complaint with the police on behalf of Mr. Bern for charges including forgery of private documents.

Mr. Mueller stated, "So far, Ppurie House has filed a total of 13 complaints with the police, including Mr. Bern's case. Of these, five were dismissed due to reasons such as the expiration of the statute of limitations, so we filed objections." He added, "Among overseas adoptees, some recall being kidnapped by strangers on the street as children and then sent to facilities. Such cases are sufficient to be regarded as 'enforced disappearances' as defined by the United Nations, and there is no statute of limitations for enforced disappearance crimes."

Peter Muller, CEO of Ppurie House, stated in an interview on the 23rd that "Overseas adoption is a human rights violation and a criminal act" and insisted that "It must be stopped immediately." Regarding the government's plan to achieve zero overseas adoptions by 2029, he said, "It's like seeing a house on fire and saying you'll come later to put out the fire." Photo by Dongju Yoon

According to the UN Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, enforced disappearance refers to cases where individuals or groups, with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of the state, arrest, detain, or abduct a person and conceal their fate or whereabouts, placing them outside the protection of the law. Mr. Mueller argued that since Korea became a party to the Convention in March 2023, the country has an obligation to investigate enforced disappearance cases domestically.

He said, "If investigative agencies such as the police and prosecutors do not thoroughly investigate enforced disappearance cases, we will directly appeal for assistance to the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances." According to Article 31 of the Convention, victims or organizations alleging violations of the Convention by a party state can directly file complaints with the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances.

Boonyoung Han, co-representative of DKRG and activist at Ppurie House, also pointed out that the Danish government, which remains firmly silent, bears a clear responsibility. According to a 2022 report by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, Denmark (5.2%) is the fourth largest recipient of Korean adoptees after the United States (67%), France (6.6%), and Sweden (5.8%).

Mr. Han criticized, "Denmark officially began overseas adoptions with Korea in 1970, but for 40 years until 2010, it never released a single related report," adding, "There was not even any verification of how the children were recruited or whether parental consent was properly obtained." He continued, "Denmark is known globally as a model country for democracy, human rights, and freedom, but when it comes to overseas adopted children, they were treated as political bargaining chips and commodities," stressing, "Just like Korea's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, an official investigation should be conducted in Denmark as well."

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