South Korean President Apologizes for Decades of Adoption Abuses

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung issued a heartfelt apology on Thursday for the nation’s poorly managed foreign adoption programs, acknowledging decades of human rights abuses and fraud that affected thousands of adoptees. In a poignant Facebook post, Lee expressed deep regret on behalf of the government, offering “words of comfort” to South Koreans adopted abroad, their adoptive families, and their birth families, who endured pain due to systemic failures.

The apology follows a landmark March 2025 report by South Korea’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which, after nearly three years of investigating complaints from 367 adoptees in Europe, the United States, and Australia, confirmed the government’s role in facilitating adoption programs driven by efforts to cut welfare costs. The report revealed widespread issues, including falsified records that misrepresented children as abandoned orphans and cases where children were negligently or even forcibly separated from their birth families.

“Thinking of the anxiety, pain, and confusion endured by adoptees sent abroad as children weighs heavily on my heart,” Lee wrote, vowing to establish systems to protect adoptees’ rights and support their efforts to reconnect with their birth families. He acknowledged recent court rulings and the Commission’s findings that exposed human rights violations during the adoption boom of the 1970s and 1980s, when South Korea sent approximately 200,000 children overseas, often through questionable means.

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A 2024 investigation by the Associated Press, in collaboration with Frontline (PBS), further highlighted how South Korea’s governments, Western nations, and adoption agencies prioritized adoptions over ethical practices, ignoring evidence of fraud and abuse. The findings underscored the need for accountability, prompting South Korea to ratify the Hague Adoption Convention in July 2025, an international treaty to regulate and safeguard intercountry adoptions, which took effect on October 1.

President Lee’s apology marks a significant step toward addressing a painful chapter in South Korea’s history. As adoptees continue to seek answers about their origins, the government faces mounting pressure to implement reforms, provide reparations, and ensure such injustices are not repeated, offering hope for healing to those affected by the country’s troubled adoption legacy.

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