Overseas adoptees: “311 human rights abuse victims remain”… urge Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Yul-rip = People who were adopted overseas from Korea from the 1960s to the 1990s have called on the 2nd Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Truth and Reconciliation Commission) to further uncover the truth about human rights violations in the past overseas adoption process.

Overseas adoptees and domestic and international organizations that applied to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission for truth-finding held a press conference in front of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Jung-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 10th and announced, "The Truth and Reconciliation Commission must convey the conclusion of its investigation into the remaining 311 people and whether the truth has been revealed within its term."

In addition, they argued that "when determining the truth, the lack of adoption documents and background information for the adoptee is itself evidence and a result of human rights violations," and that "the decision must be made by taking into consideration the special nature of the adoptee's human rights violations."

They added that all 367 adoptees who applied for truth-finding should be able to receive the results of the investigation and a response to the truth-finding inquiry, and that if a decision on human rights violations and truth-finding is not made before the conclusion of the 2nd Truth and Reconciliation Commission investigation, a 3rd Truth and Reconciliation Commission should be established to continue the investigation.

Min Young-chang, head of the Korean Adoptees' Solidarity, urged, "The Truth and Reconciliation Commission should actively approach the truth," and "If they cannot approach it on their own, they should request it from the National Assembly."

Previously, 375 Koreans adopted to 11 countries including the US, Denmark, and Sweden requested an investigation in 2022, claiming that their adoption documents were manipulated and their “right to know identity” was violated. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission secured adoption records for 367 people, excluding those whose applications were canceled, and found human rights violations in 56 cases.

These are the 98 people who were initially targeted for truth-finding, and the truth-finding on the remaining 42 people was put on hold due to insufficient data. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission plans to discuss these people again at the plenary committee meeting on the 22nd of this month.

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission's investigation period ends on May 26.