INTERVIEWDanish lawmaker urges Denmark to address adoption scandal after Korean investigation

Both countries responsible for worst kind of human rights violation, says MP Katrine Daugaard

Katrine Daugaard, a member of Denmark’s Liberal Alliance Party, urged the Danish government to launch an impartial legal investigation into irregularities in past overseas adoptions from Korea, stressing that both the sending and receiving countries must take responsibility for misconduct in adoption practices.

"The work and probe results that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) has made are super important. This is a call upon the Danish Parliament to investigate Danish authorities and adoption agencies," Daugaard told The Korea Times via email, Tuesday.

"I can’t say I was surprised by the results because I have read so many government files and case documents. It is very important for the people in both countries involved that the government takes responsibility for finding out the truth however dark it is," she added.

Her remarks follow March 26 announcement by the Korean commission on its initial investigation into overseas adoptions, which found government responsibility for human rights violations in intercountry adoptions from the 1960s to the 1990s. Of the 367 cases filed, Danish adoptees accounted for 227, or about 62 percent of the total.

Daugaard, vice chairwoman of the Social Affairs Committee in the Danish Parliament, has shown strong interest in the issue. Last September, she visited Seoul to learn more about the TRC’s ongoing investigation and has closely followed its findings.

After two and a half years of investigation, the TRC revealed systemic irregularities in Korea’s past adoption practices. It found that legislative gaps, inadequate government oversight and administrative failures led to widespread misconduct, including falsified records and forced adoptions.

The TRC’s findings have prompted action from opposition lawmakers in Denmark, who have called on the minister of social affairs to respond to the latest revelations, according to Danish media reports.

Peter Moller, who was adopted from Korea to Denmark and is a co-founder of the Danish Korean Rights Group, speaks during a press conference at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's office in Seoul, March 26. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk

Describing the adoption scandal as "the worst kind of breach of human rights and crimes" she could imagine, Daugaard said her party, along with other like-minded groups, is pushing for an investigation into the Danish government’s role in the adoptions.

"We have found a majority outside the government and can now demand that an impartial legal investigation of adoption in Denmark be launched," she said.

Denmark previously conducted its own investigation into intercountry adoptions, led by the Danish Appeals Board, and published its results in January 2024. The report found that the country’s adoption system had created "an unfortunate incentive structure" where large sums of money were transferred between Danish and Korean adoption organizations.

However, adoptee groups criticized this Danish report for failing to properly address the Danish government's potential role in the adoption process while focusing primarily on regulatory shortcomings in Korea’s adoption system.

"At first, the social minister did not even bother to have the report translated. I had to push this hard. But we have seen no action from the Danish government to find those involved," Daugaard said.

The lawmaker also viewed that both the Danish and Korean governments should take responsibility for their actions and support adoptees’ rights.

"We both have to investigate and show the hard truth, and take responsibility. If possible, we should also punish the guilty people through court," she said. "Also, we have to give the adoptees full access to their own documents."