South Korea will end private adoptions on Saturday, replacing the decades-old system with a fully state-run process following a landmark investigation into widespread abuse and irregularities.
The truth commission found fraudulent orphan records, identity tampering, and inadequate vetting of adoptive parents, calling it a “shameful part” of the nation’s history.
Under the new system, the government will oversee all adoption procedures to ensure children’s rights and safety, ending the profit-driven practices of private agencies that sent over 140,000 children overseas since 1955.
