'Roots' House' CEO Kim Do-hyun and Peter Muller: "The first step to atonement for human rights violations in overseas adoption is transparent information disclosure" [A Window to the World]
Truth and Reconciliation Commission confirms human rights violations,
including false records of missing children as orphans by omission of parental consent by brokerage agencies , and first acknowledges the issue of state responsibility Insufficient data to find roots Even if an adoptee with a rare ankle disease needs genetic information from their family history, it cannot be disclosed without the consent of their biological parents The government must first issue a sincere apology and correct errors in adoption records to restore family reunions
May 11th is 'Adoption Day'. According to the Special Act on the Promotion and Procedure of Adoption revised in 2005, it became a legal commemorative day the following year to establish adoption culture and promote domestic adoption. The day before, the 10th, is also a legal commemorative day, 'Single-parent Family Day', which was established in accordance with the Single-parent Family Support Act revised in 2018 to increase public understanding and interest in single-parent families and to break down prejudice. Although it is not widely known, civic groups that opposed the establishment of Adoption Day played a major role until the government commemorated Single-parent Family Day.
The non-profit organization Root House, which has been advocating for the rights of overseas adoptees for 22 years, has been at the forefront. The organization's co-representative, Kim Do-hyun, pointed out, "(At the time of the establishment of Adoption Day), the Roh Moo-hyun administration was immersed in the romantic idea that if they increased domestic adoptions through campaigns, overseas adoptions, which were criticized domestically and internationally, would disappear," and "In reality, overseas adoptions have never decreased because of domestic adoptions." He criticized, “The purpose of establishing Adoption Day is flawed and its policy goals have never been achieved, but the government does not accept this reality. Every year, the Prime Minister comes out and gives awards to adoptive parents and adoption agencies at a large hotel attended by 2,000 to 3,000 people, saying, ‘Domestic adoption is a beautiful thing, so please participate.’”
Since 2011, Roots House, together with overseas adoption organizations, birth family groups, and the Unwed Mothers' Family Association, has independently declared May 11th as "Single Moms' Day" and has held international conferences in the National Assembly for nine years, ending in 2019, to raise our voices in minimizing child adoption. Ultimately, Representative Kim said that the government also designated Single-Parent Family Day right before Adoption Day, meaning that it should first focus on social reconstruction so that birth mothers and children are not separated.
He said, “Instead of holding an event that leaves out the stories of adoptees and biological mothers who have suffered loss due to separation their entire lives, the government should have given the original families a chance to think carefully and helped them responsibly so that they could take charge of raising their children.” He added, “A Korean adoptee I met in Switzerland in the past lamented, ‘Those who could not raise the children they gave birth to were driven to the most miserable situations in their lives, but where was the country and where did Korean society support them? ’”
At that time, the 2nd Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Truth and Reconciliation Commission) held a press conference on March 26 regarding ‘Human Rights Violations in the Process of Overseas Adoption’ and officially raised the issue of state responsibility. In 2022, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission received applications from 375 Korean adoptees from 11 countries, including the United States, Denmark, and Sweden, and investigated them, finding human rights violations in 56 of them. It was confirmed that domestic placement agencies were blinded by economic gain and did not follow proper parental consent procedures, and even falsely recorded missing children as orphans and sent them. It was also discovered that when a child died during the procedure or was reclaimed by a relative, a new child was found and the child’s identity was manipulated as the previous child. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission pointed out that while these practices continued for decades, the state granted the heads of placement agencies guardianship rights and consent rights for adoption, while neglecting its responsibility to guarantee the human rights of adoptees. It recommended an official apology from the state, as well as follow-up measures such as relief measures for victims of identity manipulation and improvements to the adoption information provision system.
Attorney Peter Müller (Korean name: Hong Min, 51) is the co-representative of Roots House and is working hard to ensure that the organization fulfills its role as a “private embassy for adoptees.” Müller, who led the Danish Korean Truth Finding Group (DKRG) and was the first to file a request for truth-finding with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, emphasized, “Based on the results of this investigation and previous investigations in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Belgium, France, and Switzerland, this practice in Korea is without a doubt the world’s largest adoption scandal.” He added, “We must investigate the truth about the organized child abductions suspected to have occurred at birth centers as well as at the placement agencies.” He also said that the path for these agencies to reconcile with and be forgiven by adoption victims lies in “providing transparent information.”
The following is a Q&A with Representative Kim, whom we met at Roots House’s office on the 28th of last month.
―With the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s decision, the government has confirmed past human rights violations in overseas adoptions and has also acknowledged responsibility for the first time.
“According to a 2002 Swedish census and subsequent epidemiological surveys in Minnesota, USA and Oslo, Norway, the suicide/attempted suicide rate, alcohol/drug addiction rate, and crime involvement rate of Korean adoptees were usually 2-5 times higher than those raised in normal households. According to a 2012 survey by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, it was not even possible to confirm whether 23,000 Korean adoptees in the US had received citizenship. Those who were deported to Korea after being involved in crimes without receiving citizenship due to the indifference of their adoptive parents often ask us for help. Despite this, the government should immediately admit responsibility and apologize for contributing to the ‘overseas adoption fantasy.’ If they do not follow the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s recommendations, they are preparing to organize Korean adoptees around the world. We hope that the next president will personally make a sincere apology.”
- The Truth and Reconciliation Commission also ordered relief measures for victims of identity manipulation.
“After the apology, the government should correct any errors or manipulations in adoption records and work to restore the original state, such as family reunions. Since this is a task that requires expertise and money, I believe that an independent organization with budgetary authority is necessary. The current Child Rights Protection Center under the Ministry of Health and Welfare clearly has limitations in protecting the rights of adoptees and their biological families and releasing their identities. In light of the UN Convention against Enforced Disappearances, which we are a member of, there were cases that were close to human trafficking, and the government that neglected this should step forward to ensure credibility.”
―According to Article 36, Paragraph 2 of the Special Adoption Act, personal information cannot be disclosed without the consent of the biological parents. Paragraph 3 stipulates that even if the biological parents are deceased, disclosure can be made regardless of consent if there are special reasons, such as medical purposes. Because of this law, adoptees with rare diseases complain that they cannot obtain genetic information on their biological parents and other family history, even though they need it for a definitive diagnosis.
“This cannot be anything other than an anti-human rights law. If you look closely at the text of the law, you can interpret it as allowing records to be disclosed if the parents have passed away or the adoptee has a serious illness, but the government insists that both conditions must be met, using the Personal Information Protection Act as a shield. This is shocking for the self-preservationists. Furthermore, if it is a genetic illness, bone marrow from the living parents may be needed, so what’s the use of disclosing the information after death? It is information about the parents and the adoptee themselves, but they are not recognized as the subject. Any adult can register their own family relations, so why do adoptees need permission? They are concerned about the invasion of the parents’ privacy, but for adoptees, it is also a matter of survival.”
The following is a Q&A with Representative Mueller, who had a separate written interview.
―The Truth and Reconciliation Commission decided to postpone the investigation of 42 of the 98 subjects of the first round of truth-finding, citing insufficient data and the inability to confirm human rights violations.
“On the other hand, the absence of data itself is a violation of human rights. It is holding back the fundamental human right to find one’s roots. This has also been clearly stated in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The manipulation of adoption documents, the widespread trafficking of children, and the omission and loss of related records are all undeniable facts. If adoption was carried out in accordance with the law and the Constitution, the burden of proof lies with the state or the agency, not the adoptee. The fact that this result came out despite the fact that the truth of the birth could not be known due to insufficient data and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was requested to investigate the truth raises suspicions that it is a political decision rather than a legal judgment based on principle. Furthermore, despite the fact that over 50 human rights violations occurred, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission only pointed out one or two and pretended not to see the rest. Following the 2nd Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which ends its investigation period on the 26th, the 3rd Truth and Reconciliation Commission should properly address all human rights violations.”
- What needs to be improved when providing adoption information?
“The information that adoptees can access is poor. I have serious concerns about whether the Child Rights Protection Agency, which must receive the original records of child welfare facilities that protected children before adoption along with the placement agency due to the enforcement of the Domestic Adoption Special Act and the International Adoption Act on July 19, has the ability to do so. According to reports, systematic sloppy work performance, negligence, and illegal acts were discovered at this agency between July and October of last year. As a result, adoptees’ records were allegedly manipulated or mishandled. We should also keep in mind that our response to human rights violations is receiving global attention, as Korea’s practices have been accepted as an adoption model around the world.”
Editorialist Hwang Gye-sik
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