Lee Hyo-jin covers the Bank of Korea, the banking industry and broader financial news. Her previous beats include foreign affairs, North Korea and general reporting on Korean society.
Gov't to disclose results of probe into forced overseas adoptions this month
Park Sun-young, center, chief of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Korea, speaks during a press conference at the commission's office in Jung District, Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap
By Lee Hyo-jin
The government is expected to announce the preliminary results in late March of an investigation into hundreds of forced overseas adoptions, occurring mainly between the 1960s and the 1980s, following a yearslong probe into human rights violations in adoption processes.
If the official findings confirm the government's involvement in these adoptions, the results are likely to lead to hundreds of lawsuits from overseas adoptees seeking justice and compensation.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Korea (TRC) said Wednesday that its ongoing investigation into 367 cases is nearing completion. The state-run commission, established in 2005 and reinstated in 2020 after closure in 2010, reviews human rights violations committed during and after the 1950-53 Korean War and those linked to the country’s past military dictatorships.
"Recently, there has been growing attention on human rights violations in the overseas adoption processes following multiple media reports. A total of 372 cases have been submitted and, after classification, investigations are being conducted on 367 cases, including collecting personal adoption records and testimony," Lee Sang-hoon, a senior TRC official, said at a press conference.
"Among these, 98 cases are currently under review by the subcommittee and are planned to be presented to the plenary committee in March."
Once the plenary committee approves the cases and deems them to involve human rights violations, they will be immediately disclosed to the public, with a detailed report expected in the coming months, according to the TRC.
The yearslong probe included on-site inspections in Denmark and an analysis of records held by overseas adoption agencies and the National Center for the Rights of the Child.
This will mark the first official disclosure of probe results by the Korean government regarding the dark history of the nation’s overseas adoptions. Approximately 200,000 children were sent to Western countries, earning Korea a controversial reputation as a "baby exporter."
Korea saw a surge in overseas adoptions from the 1960s to the 1980s, often driven by poverty, stigma against unwed mothers and government policies aimed at population control. The adoption process was marked by coercion, inadequate consent and lack of thorough investigation into children's backgrounds. As a result, many were sent abroad without consideration of their rights and families.
The TRC launched the probe after hundreds of adoptees, including those from Denmark, Norway and the United States, filed complaints in October 2022. They alleged that their adoptions were marred by falsified documents and corrupt practices, with suspicions that both the government and adoption agencies played a role in these irregularities.
The results were initially expected at the end of 2024, but a TRC official explained the delay was due to the complexity of the cases.
Han Boon-young, co-founder of the Danish Korean Rights Group (DKRG), welcomed the TRC’s announcement.
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"We welcome the announcement of the expected timeline, and it is certain to say that these conclusions are long-awaited and will affect a community of thousands of adoptees, their families and friends," Han told The Korea Times.
"With the establishment of the truth, we will move towards reconciliation, which we believe must entail concrete steps and measures to restore our true identities, as stipulated in the United Nations human rights conventions."
She also noted that the DKRG established a working group that will analyze the TRC's conclusions when they are published, after which concrete actions will be taken.