Original Korean article published October 30th, 2026 (KST).
ChatGPT translation posted to Paperslip on October 31st, 2026 (KST).
BOLDS ours. Please see original Korean article for photographs.
Updated October 30, 2026, 19:05
Reporter: Ha Joo-eon
“At a press conference held in front of the Blue House in Seoul on October 30, organized by overseas adoptee groups and their supporting organizations, Han Tae-sun, whose family was affected by a child disappearance and illegal adoption, wept after delivering her statement.
Overseas adoptee organizations have called on the government to urgently establish the truth about human rights violations committed during the overseas adoption process and to restore the rights of those affected.
On the morning of October 30, overseas adoptee groups and domestic and international solidarity organizations held a press conference in front of the Blue House in Jongno District, Seoul. They called for the implementation of recommendations issued by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and for concrete measures to restore victims’ rights.
In March last year, the Second Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) determined that human rights violations had occurred in cases involving overseas adoptions. President Lee Jae-myung subsequently issued an apology to overseas adoptees and their birth families in a Facebook post on October 2 of that year.
Choi Hyung-sook, director of InTree, an organization supporting unmarried mothers in creating a changed future, read a statement on behalf of the Solidarity Group for Truth-Finding into Overseas Adoption Cases Investigated by the Second TRC.
“Today, we stand here as overseas adoptees whom the Truth and Reconciliation Commission has recognized as victims of human rights violations. Yet not one of us has received compensation or any meaningful form of redress,” the statement said.
The group added: “The South Korean government must go beyond expressing regret and take substantive action.”
Families affected by illegal overseas adoptions and overseas adoptees who spoke in solidarity also called for an accountable investigation into what happened and support in finding their families.
Han Tae-sun, the mother of Shin Kyung-ha, a victim of illegal overseas adoption, spoke through tears.
“In 1975, I lost my eldest daughter, Shin Kyung-ha, when she was not yet four years old,” she said. “After many long years, I found my child, but another hell began. That was when I discovered that my child had been forcibly and illegally adopted overseas, amid the negligence of South Korea’s state authorities and public administration.”
Han continued:
“Our family’s lives were torn apart during all those years in which a child whom the state should have protected was forcibly taken from us. Please conduct a thorough investigation into the truth and establish human-rights-centered measures so that the tragedy of innocent children being forcibly sent overseas for adoption never happens again in this country.”
Even after finishing her statement, Han continued to weep for some time.
Another adoptee, identified as Yellega, who was adopted to Sweden, said:
“I was born in 1973, and I have no information about my parents. Please help me find my Korean family.”
Park Ki-sun, who was adopted to Germany, also called for support in locating birth families.
“My name may not even be my real name, but I am looking for my Korean family, and I want so much to meet them,” Park said.
Ten overseas adoptee organizations, including the Korean Adoptees in Germany association (KAD e.V.), called for the state to take responsibility for establishing the truth and restoring the rights of those affected.
Reading a joint statement on behalf of the organizations, Park said:
“It has been one year since the President’s apology. An apology must lead to substantive action and the fulfillment of responsibility.”
To achieve this, the organizations called for:
Guarantees of adoptees’ right to access their adoption records.
Support for finding birth families.
Implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s recommendations and meaningful remedies for victims.
Education about the history of overseas adoption.
After the press conference, the organizations delivered their joint statement, outlining these demands, to the Presidential Office.”
ChatGPT Translator’s note: The Korean term 피해구제 is translated here as “redress” or “remedy for victims.” It encompasses more than financial compensation and can include official recognition, access to records, family tracing, and other measures to address the harm suffered.