Thousands of South Korean children—estimated at 3,600—were adopted to Australia facilitated by Eastern Social Welfare Society and our respective State and Federal Government. 

A recent report by the South Korean Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) has confirmed what adoptees and families have been saying for decades: that serious human rights abuses occurred, including:

• Lack of Proper Consent for Adoption from parents
• Forced adoptions
• Falsified and erased records
• Switched identities
• Government and institutional failures to protect children

These illicit practices have caused irreparable harm to the Korean Adoptee community globally, and in Australia. 

Thousands of Australian families trusted the Australian Government and adoption agencies to act in their best interests. Today, many adoptees have discovered this was not the case, and are still denied access to their identities, records and families.

Despite mounting evidence, the Australian Government has yet to investigate its Korean adoption program. Other countries—including the Netherlands, Denmark, Belgium, and France—have already launched investigations and uncovered deep systemic failures in their government intercountry adoption processes.

Australia must do the same.

We, at KADS Connect are calling on the Australian Government to:

1. Launch a National Inquiry into Australia’s role (All states and federal) in the adoption of South Korean children
2. Acknowledge the human rights violations that occurred
3. Provide support and reparations for affected adoptees
4. Introduce reforms to ensure these practices can never happen again
5. Recognise the rights of adoptees to access their identity, history, and family connections

Right now, the burden is falling solely on adoptees to do the investigative work. By signing this petition, you are helping to call on the Australian Government to support the Australian Korean adoptee community who has the right to their identity and family.

We know that similar unethical practices have occurred in intercountry adoptions from other countries that Australia has partnered with. Given that all intercountry adoptions are facilitated through the same systems and bodies, it raises significant questions about ALL intercountry adoptions to Australia. We stand with all Australian intercountry adoptees. Our hope is that an inquiry into Korean adoptions to Australia can lead to a wider investigation into the experiences of our broader intercountry adoptee community in Australia.

Every person deserves to know who they are, where they come from, and to be connected to their family.

Why Your Support is Crucial:
The voices of adoptees alone are not enough to bring about the change we need and our voices to be heard. We need you—the broader community, our friends and the non-adoptees who believe in human rights and justice.

By signing this petition and sharing it with your network, you are not only standing up for the rights of adoptees but also sending a strong message to the Australian government that we will not remain silent. Together, we can ensure that the mistakes of the past are recognized, and the voices of those who have been hurt are finally heard.

Share, Sign, and Stand for Justice:

• Sign this petition to demand an inquiry.
• Share it with your friends, family, and networks.
• Stand with us as we seek truth, justice, and healing for those affected by Australia’s role in these human rights violations.

References: 

KADS Connect: https://kadsconnect.com/

Follow us on Instagram & Tik Tok for updates: @KADSConnect

ABC: Australian adoptees call for inquiry in wake of South Korean overseas adoptions scandal

Truth and reconciliation commission: Press Release on human rights violations in the intercountry adoption process

ABC: Australia's South Korean adoption partner falsified adoptee records to bring children to Australia

Sydney Morning Herald: Australians caught in Korean adoption scandal 

Sydney Morning Herald: Josie was handed two Korean toddlers at the airport. They sobbed ‘mummy’ the whole way to Australia

Associated Press: Takeaways from AP’s story on the role of the West in widespread fraud with South Korean adoptions

Associated Press: AP finds widespread adoption fraud separated generations of Korean children from their families