Presidential office discusses rights protection for Korean adoptees overseas

The presidential office held a meeting Wednesday to discuss measures to protect the rights of Koreans adopted overseas and address complaints raised by them.

Second Deputy National Security Adviser Lim Woong-soon presided over the gathering of the presidential task force on overseas Koreans, which focused on pan-government efforts to protect the rights of Korean adoptees, the presidential office said.

The meeting also discussed government measures to resolve complaints from Korean adoptees, as well as progress in implementing recommendations by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the presidential office said.

Responding to complaints from hundreds of Korean adoptees from around the world, the state commission in March last year officially recognized dozens of them as victims of human rights violations in the adoption process.

The commission concluded that lax government oversight led to human rights violations against adoptees over the half-century history of overseas adoptions of Korean children, including the fabrication of documents falsely identifying adoptees as orphans and inadequate assessments of prospective adoptive parents' qualifications.

The commission also recommended an official apology from the state, relief measures and improvements to the system for providing adoption-related information.

The number of Korean adoptees overseas is estimated at around 168,000, according to the presidential office.

Wednesday's meeting, in particular, reviewed government procedures for managing adoption documents, restoring adoptees' Korean nationality and providing services to help them find their biological families and resettle in South Korea, as well as ways to improve related systems, Cheong Wa Dae said.

In a post on his Facebook account in October last year, President Lee Jae Myung issued an apology for the suffering experienced by overseas adoptees in the past and vowed stronger efforts to protect their rights.