Korean adoptees welcome fresh inquiry into rights violations in adoption process

Peter Moller, an adoptee from Denmark and co-founder of the Danish Korean Rights Group, speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at the newspaper's office in Seoul, Oct. 1, 2022. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Overseas adoptees welcomed the government’s plan to resume and expand investigations into suspected misconduct in Korea's overseas adoption system that sent roughly 200,000 Korean children to Western countries, mostly between the 1960s and 1980s.

The work will be carried out by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), an independent government body tasked with probing human rights abuses and mass killings committed by or involving the state during the 1950‑53 Korean War and under postwar authoritarian regimes.

The third TRC is scheduled to launch on Feb. 26, following revisions to the Framework Act on Settling the Past for Truth and Reconciliation, passed by the National Assembly last Thursday. The changes paved the way for the new commission.

"By establishing TRC3, this parliament has chosen truth over silence, and justice over denial," Peter Moller, an adoptee from Denmark and co-founder of the Danish Korean Rights Group, told The Korea Times.

"For those affected by institutionalization and adoption, truth-finding is not only about past wrongdoing, but about restoring identity, family connections and legal recognition in the present," he said. "The creation of TRC3 ensures that these cases are not treated as peripheral, but as integral to Korea's broader commitment to accountability, reparative justice and reconciliation."

Han Boon-young, another Korean adoptee who grew up in Denmark, also welcomed the move, emphasizing the importance of continuity after the second commission's term ended in November 2025.

"The decision to proceed with TRC3 provides reassurance to the 311 adoptees with pending cases from TRC2 and signals renewed hope for many adoptees and family members preparing to submit cases for truth investigations," Han said.

Both Moller and Han submitted their cases to the second commission, but did not receive final determinations before its mandate expired.

Inter-country adoption is expected to be high up on the upcoming TRC agenda following a landmark report released by the second commission in March 2025 acknowledging past irregularities in the nation's international adoption system.

Korea's overseas adoption program peaked between the 1960s and 1980s, earning the nation the controversial label of a "baby exporter."

For decades, adoptees and advocacy groups have argued that the government failed to adequately regulate adoption agencies and safeguard the rights of children, allowing abuses to occur with little oversight.

In 2022, hundreds of adoptees filed petitions with the second TRC, calling for a formal investigation. After years of deliberation, the commission issued a detailed report acknowledging that legislative gaps, inadequate government oversight and administrative failures had prompted widespread misconduct, leading to violations of adoptees' rights.

These findings, however, were limited in scope.

While the second TRC opened investigations into 367 cases, only 56 were formally recognized as human rights violations. Many others were dismissed or left unresolved.

Overseas adoptees and civic groups hold a press conference near the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's office in Jung District, Seoul, April 10, 2025, demanding the commission disclose all findings from its investigation into human rights violations in overseas adoptions. Yonhap

The third commission is expected to take over unfinished cases and broaden the scope of investigations.

Still, investigations are not expected to begin immediately.

"We need to see how the process unfolds, but it will likely take at least several months before formal investigations into individual cases can begin," an official from the second TRC said.

The commission's panel that reviews cases and makes final determinations on whether abuses constitute rights violations consists of 13 members, including a chairperson appointed by the president and panel members recommended by the National Assembly speaker, the ruling and opposition parties, as well as minor parties.

While the chairperson is typically named around the time of the launch ceremony, the appointment of the remaining commissioners often takes longer, potentially delaying the start of full-scale investigations. The second TRC was launched in December 2020, but investigations did not begin until May 2021.

Even if investigations into overseas adoption resume, some question whether the third commission can overcome the systemic limitations that hampered its predecessor.

At that time, although more than 100 cases were initially advanced to the committee stage, roughly 40 were overturned in full commission votes, amid what some insiders described as power struggles among commissioners appointed by rival political parties.