South Korea's Plan to End Foreign Adoptions Amid UN Criticism Over Past Abuses

South Korea's government has declared its intention to end the foreign adoption of Korean children, aiming to phase out the practice entirely by 2029. This significant policy shift was announced just hours after United Nations human rights investigators released a statement voicing "serious concern" over what they described as Seoul's failure to ensure truth-finding and reparations for widespread human rights violations tied to decades of mass overseas adoptions. The dual developments highlight a critical moment of reckoning for a nation that sent over 200,000 children abroad, often through a system riddled with fraud and abuse.

The UN's Grave Concerns and South Korea's Response

The United Nations human rights office, following months of communication with victims, criticized South Korea for failing to provide adoptees with effective access to remedies for serious abuses. Investigators, including special rapporteurs on trafficking and child abuse, pointed to a "possible denial of their rights to truth, reparations, and memorialization." They specifically raised alarm over the suspension of a government fact-finding investigation into past adoption abuses, despite reports of grave violations that may amount to enforced disappearances.

In its official response to the UN, the South Korean government, represented by Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Lee Seuran, focused largely on future systemic improvements. Officials highlighted past reforms, such as a 2011 law that reinstated judicial oversight of foreign adoptions, which ended decades of control by private agencies. However, the government offered no new concrete measures to address the vast backlog of inaccurate or falsified records that prevent many adoptees from reconnecting with birth families. Human rights lawyer Choi Jung Kyu, representing victims, labeled the response as "perfunctory," noting that promises of stronger reparations are not clearly defined in proposed legislation.

The Historic Scale and Systemic Failures

South Korea's foreign adoption program was at its peak during the 1970s and 1980s, when the country sent an average of more than 6,000 children abroad annually to Western nations like the United States and France. This system was driven by past military governments that passed special laws promoting foreign adoptions to reduce welfare costs. Vast powers were given to private adoption agencies, which often manipulated children's backgrounds, falsifying documents to describe them as abandoned orphans even when they had living families.

An investigation by The Associated Press, in collaboration with Frontline (PBS), detailed how governments and agencies worked in tandem to send children overseas despite evidence of questionable procurement. The recent findings of South Korea's own Truth and Reconciliation Commission acknowledged state responsibility for facilitating a program rife with fraud and abuse. The commission recognized 56 adoptees as victims of human rights violations, including falsified origins and child protection failures, before halting its investigation due to internal disputes.

The Path Forward and Ongoing Challenges

South Korea's plan involves restructuring the adoption system into a public framework, with the Health Ministry taking a larger role. The goal is to promote domestic adoptions and tighten welfare policies for children in need of care. The number of foreign adoptions has already plummeted, from around 2,000 in 2005 to just 24 in 2025. While this represents a dramatic shift, it does little to address the grievances of those adopted in prior decades.

The fate of hundreds of unresolved cases hinges on future legislation to establish a new truth commission. Furthermore, adoptees like Yooree Kim, who was sent to France in 1984 based on falsified documents and endured severe abuse, continue to seek accountability through legal petitions. President Lee Jae Myung issued an apology in October 2024 over past adoption problems, but tangible reparations and a comprehensive truth-finding process remain elusive. The international community, alongside adoptee advocacy groups, continues to pressure Seoul to move beyond apologies and implement concrete, victim-centered remedies.