Juna Moon and Tessa Wong, reporting for BBC News from Seoul and Singapore, share the story of Han Tae-soon’s decades-long search for her daughter Kyung-ha. Han’s last memory of Kyung-ha as a child was in May 1975 in their home in Seoul, before she mysteriously disappeared. Han reunited with her daughter after more than four decades, only to find her living in the US as Laurie Bender, allegedly kidnapped and sent overseas for adoption. Han is now suing the South Korean government for their role in her daughter’s adoption, amidst a wave of allegations involving fraud, illegal adoptions, kidnapping, and human trafficking in South Korea’s overseas adoption program. This program, which began in the 1950s, has sent hundreds of thousands of children abroad for adoption, mostly to the West. A recent inquiry found that the government had committed human rights violations in overseeing this program, leading to potential lawsuits. Han’s case is one of two landmark cases seeking justice for those affected by the controversial adoption practices. Han is determined to hold the government accountable for the years of pain and suffering she endured searching for her daughter. The emotional reunion between Han and Kyung-ha in 2019 finally brought closure to their long and painful separation. During their time under government supervision, these agencies gradually gained independence through legal mechanisms. As their influence grew, so did the number of children being sent overseas, peaking in the 1980s. Demand from the West, coupled with declining birth rates, led families to seek children from other countries.
Critics have questioned the necessity of sending so many children abroad during a period of rapid economic growth in South Korea. The truth and reconciliation commission highlighted instances of neglect during the transportation of these children, including tragic cases like a lactose-intolerant child who died after being fed milk during a flight.
The commission’s report also revealed unethical practices by adoption agencies, such as setting quotas for children and falsifying information in adoption records. This has created challenges for many overseas adoptees trying to trace their biological origins.
Calls for reconciliation and accountability have been made by advocates like Han Boon-young, who emphasizes the human rights violations committed during the inter-country adoption process. Some key figures in the adoption industry have denied any wrongdoing, despite facing allegations of fraud and illegal adoptions. Juna Moon y Tessa Wong Cualquier padre que alegue que sus hijos fueron secuestrados “no perdieron a sus hijos, los abandonaron”, dijo.
La administración actual de Holt International aún no ha respondido a la solicitud de comentarios de la BBC.
‘El gobierno era el capitán, las agencias remaban el barco’
Los expertos dicen que la responsabilidad no solo recaía en las agencias privadas, sino también en el estado.
“Las agencias de adopción explotaron el sistema, y el gobierno hizo la vista gorda, permitiendo que prácticas ilegales se arraigaran”, dijo el Dr. Lee Kyung-eun, académico de derecho internacional en la Universidad Nacional de Seúl.
“El gobierno era el capitán, y las agencias remaban el barco”, dijo Shin Pil-sik, investigador de adopción transnacional en la Universidad de Seokyeong, quien agregó que esta estructura permitía a ambos lados evadir la responsabilidad.
El Dr. Shin dijo que el estado no era un mero observador pasivo, sino que activamente moldeaba la política de adopción, estableciendo cuotas anuales para colocaciones en el extranjero e incluso en ocasiones deteniendo algunas adopciones.