Overseas Adoptees Seek Truth, Commission Confirms Rights Violations

The ongoing efforts by overseas adoptees to uncover the truth about their adoptions from South Korea, particularly highlighted by the Danish Korean Truth Commission Group's advocacy, underscore a critical national responsibility. The findings of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which identified human rights violations in numerous cases and estimated over 140,000 children were adopted abroad between 1955 and 1999, are a somber reflection of a past where the system failed to adequately protect vulnerable children. While the commission's recommendations for government apologies and measures to address citizenship and identity issues are steps in the right direction, the systemic nature of these violations demands deeper introspection. South Korea, once dubbed an 'export nation for children,' must confront the legacy of its rapid industrialization, which saw overseas adoption become a 'business.' The recent implementation of birth registration and protection measures for pregnant women, while positive, also brings to the fore the complex issue of access to information for adoptees. The legal challenge questioning the constitutionality of the Adoption Act, which restricts adoptees' access to their biological parents' information without consent, is particularly pertinent. This highlights a fundamental tension between privacy rights and an adoptee's inherent right to know their origins. As South Korea continues to evolve, ensuring that the state fulfills its duty to protect the rights and provide avenues for truth and reconciliation for all its citizens, including those who were adopted abroad, is not just a matter of historical justice but a moral imperative for a nation that values human dignity.

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Overseas adoptees have the right to know the truth, and we declare that overseas adoptees who have lived based on lies have the right to know the truth, and we request that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission actively investigate thousands of adoptees who have been deprived of their identity and right to know.