Lost Daughter from 1975 Found in the U.S. 5 Years Ago
Mother: "Regret the Time Lost to Pain"
A couple who searched for their daughter for 44 years without knowing that she had been adopted overseas after going missing at the age of six in 1975 filed a lawsuit against the government seeking compensation for damages.
On the morning of the 7th, the Child Rights Solidarity and the legal representatives held a press conference near the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul, regarding this matter, according to Yonhap News Agency. They stated the background of the lawsuit as follows: "We want to raise issues about the history of promoting overseas adoption faster than efforts to reunite missing children with their parents, and the government's responsibility for child protection that failed to safeguard such children."
On the morning of the 7th, a press conference regarding a national compensation claim lawsuit for the illegal adoption of missing children was held in front of the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul. [Photo by Yonhap News]
The plaintiffs in this state compensation lawsuit are four family members, including the parents and sibling of the daughter who went missing in 1975. The couple, Han (female) and Shin, lost their six-year-old daughter in 1975 in Cheongju, Chungbuk. After searching for their missing daughter for decades, they dramatically found her five years ago in 2019, having been adopted and raised in the United States. It was a reunion after a full 44 years.
The daughter was handed over to an adoption agency two months after going missing, and overseas adoption was pursued. Seven months later, she was sent to the United States and adopted. The parents were able to reunite with their daughter through '325 Kamra,' an organization that supports family reunification using DNA information, and learned about this story through the adoption records their daughter had.
They are claiming a total of 600 million won in damages from the government, the infant home that protected the child at the time, and the adoption agency. This is the first lawsuit holding the government accountable in a case where a missing child was adopted overseas without being reunited with their parents.
Kim Su-jeong, the legal representative of the family (Law Firm Jihyang), pointed out, "At the time, local governments and the police failed to fulfill their obligations under the law to notify and hand over the child to the guardian, contributing to the unjust overseas adoption." She added, "The plaintiffs’ suffering is so deep and extensive that it cannot be healed by mere monetary compensation."
The missing daughter's mother, Han, expressed, "The time lost to pain is so frustrating," and said, "The joy of finding my daughter was brief, and now it is very painful because we cannot communicate due to language barriers. They did not reunite us with our healthy parents but turned her into an orphan and sent her overseas for adoption." She continued, "Families of missing persons become ill, lose their property, and live tragic lives while searching for their children, but no one takes responsibility. The Republic of Korea government, which has overlooked this heinous business, must acknowledge its responsibility and apologize a hundredfold before the missing parents."
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