Western Governments Face Reckoning Over South Korean Adoption Scandal

An investigation reveals widespread fraud and coercion in South Korean adoptions to Western countries, prompting calls for accountability.

Many adoptees have discovered their adoption paperwork was falsified, with some realizing they were kidnapped or wrongly declared orphans.
Western countries, including the U.S., pressured South Korea to continue adoptions despite evidence of unethical practices by adoption agencies.
South Korea's adoption system, initially created to find homes for children of Korean women and Western soldiers, became a competitive business driven by high demand from Western families.
European nations like the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, and Norway are now investigating or halting international adoptions, while Switzerland has issued an apology.
The U.S. has begun a preliminary review of its adoption practices after questions from the AP, but has yet to fully address its historical role in the adoption system.