On October 2nd, 2025, President Lee Jae Myung Issued an apology to international Korean adoptees via his Facebook.
<국제 사회와 함께 입양인의 삶을 지키겠습니다>
올해 10월 1일부터 대한민국은 ‘헤이그 국제아동입양협약’의 공식적 당사국 지위를 갖게 됐습니다. 앞서 협약을 비준한 전 세계 100여 개 국가와 함께 아동의 권리 보호를 최우선에 두고, 국내외 입양 절차를 투명하고 책임 있게 운영하겠다고 국제 사회와 약속한 것입니다.
당연한 이 약속에 이르기까지 우리의 과거는 결코 자랑스럽지 않았습니다. 대한민국은 한때 ‘아동 수출국’이라는 부끄러운 오명을 써왔습니다. 6·25전쟁 이후부터 최근까지 해외에 입양된 아동이 공식 기록만으로도 17만여 명에 달합니다.
선진국 반열에 올라섰다는 2020년대에도 한 해 평균 100명 이상의 아동이 낯선 해외로 떠나야 했습니다. 따뜻한 입양가족을 만난 이들도 있었지만, 일부 입양기관의 무책임과 방조로 평생을 고통 속에 보낸 분들도 많습니다.
아직 우리 말도 서툰 어린 나이에 이역만리 타국의 낯선 땅에 홀로 던져졌을 해외 입양인들의 불안과 고통, 혼란을 떠올리면 마음이 매우 무겁습니다.
최근 법원 판결과 진실·화해를 위한 과거사정리위원회의 조사 결과, 해외 입양 과정에서 일부 부당한 인권 침해 사례가 확인되기도 했습니다. 그 과정에서 국가가 제 역할을 다하지 못한 부분들도 없지 않을 것입니다.
대한민국을 대표해 그간 고통받은 해외 입양인과 가족, 그리고 원가정에 진심 어린 사과와 위로의 말씀을 드립니다.
지난 7월 「국내입양에 관한 특별법」과 「국제입양에 관한 법률」이 시행되면서, 국가와 지자체가 입양 절차를 책임지는 체계가 마련됐습니다. 이제 국가가 입양인 여러분의 든든한 울타리가 되어 드리겠습니다.
관계 부처는 긴밀한 협력을 통해 입양인의 권리 보호와 인권 중심적 입양체계 확립에 만전을 기해 주길 바랍니다. 아울러 해외입양인들의 뿌리 찾기를 도울 실효적 지원방안도 함께 강구해 주길 바랍니다.
입양인과 입양가정, 그리고 원가정이 서로 함께함으로써 더 큰 행복을 누리며 살아갈 수 있도록 전력을 다하겠습니다.
English Translation
From October 1st of this year, the Republic of Korea has attained official status as a party to the Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption. Alongside the over 100 nations worldwide that have previously ratified the Convention, it has pledged to the international community to prioritise the protection of children’s rights and to operate domestic and international adoption procedures transparently and responsibly.
The path to this necessary commitment has not been one of which we can be proud of. The Republic of Korea once bore the shameful stigma of being a ‘child exporting nation’. From the Korean War until recent times, official records alone indicate that over 170,000 children were adopted abroad.
Even in the 2020s, when we had ascended to the ranks of developed nations, over 100 children on average each year still had to leave for unfamiliar foreign lands. While some found loving adoptive families, many others endured lifelong suffering due to the irresponsibility and complicity of certain adoption agencies.
It weighs heavily on my heart to contemplate the anxiety, suffering, and confusion endured by those overseas adoptees, cast alone into unfamiliar lands far from home at an age when they were still struggling with their native language.
Recent court rulings and investigations by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission have confirmed instances of unjust human rights violations occurring during the overseas adoption process. It is likely that the state failed to fulfil its responsibilities in certain aspects of this process.
On behalf of the Republic of Korea, I offer my sincere apologies and words of comfort to the overseas adoptees, their families, and birth families who have suffered over the years.
With the implementation last July of the Special Act on Domestic Adoption and the Act on International Adoption, a system has been established whereby the state and local governments are responsible for adoption procedures. The state will now become a steadfast support for all adoptees.
We will spare no effort to ensure that adoptees, adoptive families, and birth families can live together, sharing greater happiness.
EARS Statement
Posted to the EARS Instagram on October 10, 2025.
President Lee Jae-myung’s public apology to overseas adoptees and their families, shared ahead of Chuseok, has deeply resonated across our global community. For many, his words offered long-awaited recognition of the pain carried by adoptees, first families, and adoptive families alike, each shaped by decades of separation, secrecy, and loss.
We receive this apology as a meaningful gesture that opens the door for truth-telling, repair, and collaboration. Reconciliation, however, requires more than words. It calls for concrete steps that acknowledge the past and prevent future harm.
As adoptee advocates, descendants, and allies, EARS asks the Korean government to accompany this apology with lasting and measurable action:
- Guarantee immediate and unredacted access to all adoption records for adoptees, their descendants, and families seeking truth.
- Establish a reparations process that includes state supported DNA testing, funded family tracing, and mental health and legal support to assist those seeking reconnection and justice.
- Establish a third Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC3) to investigate human rights violations in adoption and recommend pathways toward justice and restitution.
- Shift resources from overseas adoption toward family preservation and care-based reform so that no child is ever separated from their family because of poverty, stigma, or lack of support.
- Create a permanent national archive for all adoption-related files and guarantee long-term public stewardship of these records.
This moment must not become another symbolic gesture that fades with time. It is an opportunity for the Republic of Korea to demonstrate genuine leadership by confronting its adoption legacy with courage and integrity. Adoptees, families, and allies around the world are watching for action that transforms apology into justice.
We encourage all adoptees, first and adoptive families, and community allies to continue this conversation by responding to President Lee’s original Facebook post with your stories, your hopes, and your calls for change. We encourage you to share in your own language, and if possible, include a Korean translation so your message reaches both the president and a wider Korean audience. Together, an apology can serve as the foundation for accountability and collective healing.