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Kim Su-jeong, a lawyer with Minbyun-Lawyers for a Democratic Society, gives a statement outside the Seoul Central District Court on May 16 following the court’s ruling in a damages case filed by Shin Song-hyuk against the state and Holt International Children’s Services. (Baek So-ah/The Hankyoreh)

For the first time, a South Korean court found a transnational adoption agency is liable for compensation for failing to fulfill its duty of care after a child is placed for adoption. However, the court did not find the state liable for human rights abuses that may have occurred during the adoption process.

With the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Korea announcing it will look into 237 more cases of suspected fraudulent adoption, many are waiting to see if the commission will show the state to be liable for mishandling the overseas adoptions of Korean children.

On Tuesday, the Seoul Central District Court ruled in part in favor of Adam Crapser, 47, who was sent for adoption to the US in 1979. Crapser, who was put up for adoption under the name Shin Song-hyuk, filed a damages suit against Holt Children’s Services and the government in 2019. Four years later, the court ruled that Holt must compensate Crapser to the tune of 100 million won (US$75,000).

The court found that Holt failed to fulfill its duty of care as Crapser’s guardian and its duty to verify his citizenship. Crapser was sent for adoption to the US in 1979 at the age of 3. He was placed in foster care twice, suffering abuse by his adoptive parents.

Unable to apply for American citizenship, Crapser was deported to South Korea in 2016, separated from his children in the US. “Had [Holt] actively sought to verify his citizenship, Shin would have been able to obtain citizenship and would not have been deported,” the court said.

The lawsuit began in 2019, when Crapser sued Holt for US$200 million in damages. He also sought to hold the South Korean government liable for failing to supervise Holt and fulfill its duty of care to its citizens.

While the judiciary did not find the state liable for compensation in this case, investigations into the government’s role in mishandling transnational adoptions are expanding. The country’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission will launch a second round of investigation to determine whether human rights violations occurred during the adoption process of 237 transnational adoptees.

The Danish Korean Rights Group, the world’s largest community of Korean adoptees, and 372 applicants submitted their cases for consideration to the commission from August to December in 2022, and the commission decided to launch a first round of investigation in December 2022 for 34 cases.

Individuals who suspected that their identities were misconstrued or fabricated, such as by being marked as orphans or going up for adoption under a name that was not their own, were selected for the first round of investigation. A second round of investigation will mean a total of 271 cases of transnational adoption will be investigated, more than 70 percent of the total 372 applicants.

By Oh Yeon-seo, staff reporter; Kwak Jin-san, staff reporter

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