South Korean Group Expands Investigation into Foreign Adoptions
2023-06-14
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1South Korea's Truth and Reconciliation Commission said last week it will investigate the cases of 237 more South Korean adoptees.
2The adoptees suspect their family history records were changed to make their adoptions possible in Europe and the United States.
3The new cases in the investigation involve foreign adoptees in 11 nations.
4All involve adoptions that took place between 1960 and 1990.
5More than 370 adoptees from Europe, North America, and Australia registered applications last year demanding that their cases be investigated.
6The commission said last December it would investigate the first 34 cases.
7It noted that the records of many adoptees sent to the West had clearly been changed.
8It said the records falsely described the adoptees as being orphans, or not having living parents.
9It also said the records falsified their identities.
10The commission said most of the applicants claim their adoptions were based on falsified records meant to make their adoptions possible.
11Some applicants asked the commission to look into abuses they say they experienced at South Korean orphanages or under the care of their foreign adoptive parents.
12Of the 271 cases accepted by the commission so far, 141 are those of Danish adoptees.
13They include members of the Danish Korean Rights Group.
14Other cases include 28 U.S. adoptees and 21 Swedish adoptees, officials said.
15The commission is examining the applications in the order they were registered.
16Officials have said it is likely to investigate the remaining 101 cases, too.
17About 200,000 South Koreans were adopted by parents in Western countries over the past 60 years.
18They are believed to be the world's largest group of foreign adoptees.
19Most were placed with white parents in the United States and Europe during the 1970s and 1980s.
20During that time, South Korea was ruled by back-to-back military dictatorships.
21The military government focused on policies meant to increase economic growth.
22The government saw adoption as a way to reduce the number of people to feed, remove the "social problem" of unmarried mothers, and deepen ties with the democratic West.
23The military government created special laws aimed at increasing foreign adoptions.
24Those laws let adoption agencies get around widely accepted child relinquishment practices.
25To relinquish in this case means to give up possession or control of something.
26Most adoptees were registered by agencies as orphans found abandoned on the streets, even if they had family members who could have been easily identified.
27That practice has made it hard for South Korean adoptees to know their roots, or family history.
28It was not until 2013 that South Korea's government required foreign adoptions to go through family courts.
29The change ended a long policy that permitted agencies to control child relinquishments and international adoptions.
30I'm Ashley Thompson.
1South Korea's Truth and Reconciliation Commission said last week it will investigate the cases of 237 more South Korean adoptees. The adoptees suspect their family history records were changed to make their adoptions possible in Europe and the United States. 2The new cases in the investigation involve foreign adoptees in 11 nations. All involve adoptions that took place between 1960 and 1990. 3More than 370 adoptees from Europe, North America, and Australia registered applications last year demanding that their cases be investigated. 4The commission said last December it would investigate the first 34 cases. It noted that the records of many adoptees sent to the West had clearly been changed. It said the records falsely described the adoptees as being orphans, or not having living parents. It also said the records falsified their identities. 5The commission said most of the applicants claim their adoptions were based on falsified records meant to make their adoptions possible. 6Some applicants asked the commission to look into abuses they say they experienced at South Korean orphanages or under the care of their foreign adoptive parents. 7Of the 271 cases accepted by the commission so far, 141 are those of Danish adoptees. They include members of the Danish Korean Rights Group. Other cases include 28 U.S. adoptees and 21 Swedish adoptees, officials said. 8The commission is examining the applications in the order they were registered. Officials have said it is likely to investigate the remaining 101 cases, too. 9History of adoptions 10About 200,000 South Koreans were adopted by parents in Western countries over the past 60 years. They are believed to be the world's largest group of foreign adoptees. 11Most were placed with white parents in the United States and Europe during the 1970s and 1980s. During that time, South Korea was ruled by back-to-back military dictatorships. The military government focused on policies meant to increase economic growth. The government saw adoption as a way to reduce the number of people to feed, remove the "social problem" of unmarried mothers, and deepen ties with the democratic West. 12The military government created special laws aimed at increasing foreign adoptions. Those laws let adoption agencies get around widely accepted child relinquishment practices. To relinquish in this case means to give up possession or control of something. 13Most adoptees were registered by agencies as orphans found abandoned on the streets, even if they had family members who could have been easily identified. That practice has made it hard for South Korean adoptees to know their roots, or family history. 14It was not until 2013 that South Korea's government required foreign adoptions to go through family courts. The change ended a long policy that permitted agencies to control child relinquishments and international adoptions. 15I'm Ashley Thompson. 16Kim Tong-Hyung reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 17__________________________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19adopt - v. to take a child of other parents legally as your own child 20apply - v. to ask formally for something (such as a job, admission to a school, or a loan) usually in writing 21focus - v. to cause (something, such as attention) to be directed at something specific 22abandon - v. to leave and never return to (someone who needs protection or help)