South Korean adoptees, from US to Australia and Europe, demand probes into their cases
- Almost 400 adopted by families overseas have asked the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate their adoptions amid claims of falsified documents
- There are accusations some children were falsely registered as orphans or had identities switched in push to eject so-called ‘undesirables’, deepen ties with West
Nearly 400 South Koreans adopted as children by families in the West have requested South Korea’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission investigate their adoptions, as Seoul faces growing pressure to reckon with a child export frenzy driven by dictatorships that ruled the country until the 1980s.
The commission on Thursday said it decided to investigate 34 cases among the 51 adoptees who first submitted their applications in August, which could develop into the country’s most far-reaching inquiry into foreign adoptions yet.
A total of 63 adoptees from the United States, Europe and Australia submitted applications to the commission on Friday, the final day for doing so, claiming their adoptions were marred by falsified documents that laundered child statuses or identities as agencies raced to send thousands of children abroad each year.
The adoptees accused agencies of fabricating documents to ensure youngsters’ adoptability, such as falsely registering them as orphans when they had living relatives or switching their identities with other children, which often resulted in lost connections or what turned out to be false reunions with relatives.
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South Korean adoptees allege they were wrongfully taken in, request Truth Commission investigation
Similar issues have been raised by many of the 306 adoptees who previously submitted applications in past months, as they called for the commission to pressure agencies into fully opening their documents and to establish whether the government was responsible for the corrupt practices.
