South Korea has announced major changes to its adoption system following a national investigation that uncovered decades of abuse and misconduct in international adoptions.
The move comes after the country’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission found that the government had played a direct role in sending children overseas under false pretenses from the 1960s through the 1990s.
The commission confirmed that adoption agencies and government authorities were involved in falsifying documents, registering children as orphans even when they had living parents, and processing adoptions without proper legal consent.
Some infants who died were replaced with others under the same identity to maintain adoption numbers. Out of 367 filed cases, 56 have been verified so far.
The commission temporarily suspended the remaining cases, awaiting a decision from the next administration following the June 2025 presidential by-election.
In response, South Korea will begin enforcing a new adoption framework starting in July 2025.
All responsibilities for domestic and international adoptions will shift from private agencies to local governments and the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
Local authorities will evaluate the needs of each child and determine whether adoption is necessary.
The ministry will oversee the matching of children with adoptive families and supervise the process to ensure better protection and transparency.
Additionally, the government ratified the Hague Adoption Convention in June 2025, committing to international standards for adoption procedures.
Enforcement of the agreement is set to begin in October.
Despite these steps, adoptee organizations and advocacy groups argue that the reforms are only part of what is needed.
Many are calling for a formal apology from the state and the full implementation of the commission’s recommendations, including identity restoration, support for adoptees seeking their roots, and reparations for past harm.
Between the 1950s and early 2000s, an estimated 140,000 to 200,000 Korean children were adopted abroad, mostly to the United States and Europe.
This large-scale adoption program, once seen as a solution to poverty and population issues, is now being re-examined as a policy failure that harmed many families and children.