South Korea: Overseas adoptees are demanding justice after investigations uncovered widespread fraud in South Korea’s international adoption system.

Many adoptees discovered false information after requesting copies of their adoption records. The findings changed what they believed about their birth families.

Marie Wang, who grew up in Denmark, started searching for answers in 2023. She had always believed her birth mother gave her up because of difficult circumstances.

New documents told a different story. Wang said her birth mother believed she had died shortly after birth. The records also suggested a doctor arranged the adoption.

Wang said her adoption agency later refused to release more information. Officials cited privacy laws when rejecting her requests.

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Another Danish adoptee, Mia Lee Hansen, uncovered a similar case. She visited South Korea in 2011 and met representatives from her adoption agency.

Agency officials admitted that parts of her adoption records contained false information. Hansen later used a commercial DNA test to trace her relatives.

She reunited with her birth family in 2022. Her father said he believed she had died as a newborn. Her relatives also said the family never agreed to an adoption.

South Korea’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) investigated hundreds of overseas adoption cases. The commission found fabricated records, identity manipulation and false orphan registrations. It also found cases where authorities failed to obtain legal consent from birth parents.

The findings supported an earlier investigation by The Associated Press and PBS Frontline. Their report said about 200,000 children went overseas through an adoption system that often relied on deception or coercion.

President Lee Jae Myung later apologised to overseas adoptees and their families. He acknowledged their suffering and promised reforms.

South Korea has joined the Hague Convention on intercountry adoption. The government also plans to end overseas adoptions by 2029. It has transferred responsibility for future adoptions from private agencies to the state.

Many adoptees say the reforms have not delivered accountability. They continue to face barriers when seeking official records because authorities often cite privacy laws.

Peter Møller, who supports adoptees through KoRoot, criticised the slow response from law enforcement. He said investigators dismissed several recognised cases without carrying out full investigations.

KoRoot has reviewed more than 4,000 adoption files since 2021. The organisation says it has not found a single case with completely accurate records.

Many adoptees say official recognition validates their experiences. They now want South Korea to uncover the full truth, hold institutions accountable and help reunite separated families.