South Korean woman sues government and adoption agency after her kidnapped daughter was sent abroad

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A 70-year-old South Korean woman sued her government, an adoption agency, and an orphanage Monday over the adoption of her daughter, who was sent to the United States in 1976, months after she was kidnapped at age 4.

The damage suit filed by Han Tae-soon, whose story was part of an Associated Press investigation published last month, could ignite further debate on the dubious child-gathering practices and widespread falsification of paperwork that tarnished South Korea’s adoption program, which annually sent thousands of kids to the West during the 1970-80s.

It was the first known case of a Korean birth parent suing for damages against the government and an adoption agency over the wrongful adoption of their child, said Kim Soo-jung, one of the lawyers representing Han.

Han searched for her daughter, Laurie Bender, for more than 40 years before they reunited through DNA testing in 2019. Speaking to reporters in front of the Seoul Central District Court, Han argued that the South Korean government was responsible for failing to prevent the adoption of Bender.

Han had reported to police that her daughter was missing and desperately searched for her, frequently visiting police stations, government offices and adoption agencies and even going on Korean media. She had her daughter’s picture displayed everywhere — in subway stations, on lamp posts, on bags of snacks that advertised missing children, the Korean version of American milk cartons.

Han accuses Holt Children’s Services, South Korea’s biggest adoption agency, of facilitating Bender’s adoption without checking her background. Her lawyers said the Jechon Children’s Home made no effort to find the parents after Bender was placed at the facility