Overseas adoptees have welcomed the government's plan to resume and expand investigations into suspected misconduct in Korea's overseas adoption system. The third Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC3) is set to launch on February 26 to handle this work. The move builds on a landmark report from its predecessor acknowledging past irregularities.
Korea's overseas adoption program peaked between the 1960s and 1980s, sending roughly 200,000 children to Western countries and earning the nation the controversial label of a 'baby exporter.' For decades, adoptees and advocacy groups have argued that the government failed to adequately regulate adoption agencies and protect children's rights, allowing abuses to occur with little oversight.
In 2022, hundreds of adoptees filed petitions with the second Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). After years of deliberation, it released a detailed report in March 2025 acknowledging that legislative gaps, inadequate government oversight, and administrative failures led to widespread misconduct and violations of adoptees' rights. However, the findings were limited in scope: out of 367 investigated cases, only 56 were formally recognized as human rights violations, with many others dismissed or left unresolved.
Peter Moller, a Danish adoptee and co-founder of the Danish Korean Rights Group, told The Korea Times: "By establishing TRC3, this parliament has chosen truth over silence, and justice over denial." He added, "For those affected by institutionalization and adoption, truth-finding is not only about past wrongdoing, but about restoring identity, family connections and legal recognition in the present." Han Boon-young, another adoptee raised in Denmark, welcomed the continuity after the second commission's term ended in November 2025, saying it provides "reassurance to the 311 adoptees with pending cases from TRC2 and signals renewed hope for many adoptees and family members preparing to submit cases."
Both Moller and Han had submitted their cases to the second commission but received no final determinations before its mandate expired. The third TRC, launching on February 26 following revisions to the Framework Act passed by the National Assembly last Thursday, is expected to inherit unfinished cases and broaden investigations into inter-country adoptions.
Still, full-scale probes are not imminent. A second TRC official noted that "formal investigations into individual cases" will likely take at least several months. The commission comprises 13 members, including a presidentially appointed chairperson and others recommended by the National Assembly and parties; delays in appointments could push back operations, as seen with the second TRC, which launched in December 2020 but began investigations only in May 2021. Insiders described some overturned cases—over 40 advanced ones rejected in full votes—as resulting from power struggles among politically appointed commissioners.
