South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday issued an apology for poorly managed foreign adoption programs, acknowledging widespread abuses and fraud, months after the country’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission recognized state responsibility for such practices for the first time.

In a Facebook post, Lee offered “heartfelt apology and words of comfort” on behalf of the nation to South Koreans adopted abroad, as well as their adoptive and birth families. He acknowledged that findings from the commission and recent court rulings confirmed human rights abuses in international adoptions and admitted the government failed to act adequately in such cases.

Lee expressed sorrow over the “anxiety, pain and confusion” experienced by adoptees sent abroad as children and called on officials to establish systems safeguarding their rights and helping them locate birth parents.

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South Korea faced criticism for adoption practices during the 1970s and 1980s, when thousands of children were sent overseas. Investigations revealed many records were falsified to portray children as orphans, while some were removed or taken from their families without proper consent.

A March report by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission confirmed the government’s role in facilitating adoptions to reduce welfare costs, echoing a 2024 AP-Frontline investigation showing that around 200,000 Korean children were sent abroad through questionable means.

South Korea formally ratified the Hague Adoption Convention in July, which took effect on Wednesday, aiming to safeguard international adoptions in the future.

Source: AP