Danish report underscores ‘systematic illegal behavior’ in adoptions of children from South Korea

By JAN M. OLSEN
Associated Press

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — A Danish report says adoptions of children from South Korea in the 1970s and 1980s to Denmark was “characterized by systematic illegal behavior” in the Asian country. The report on Thursday says these violations made it “possible to change information about a child’s background and adopt a child without the knowledge of the biological parents.” The Danish Appeals Board says there was “an unfortunate incentive structure” and that large sums of money were “transferred between the Danish and South Korean organizations.” For years, adoptees in Europe, the United States and Australia have raised alarms about fraud, including involving babies who were falsely registered as abandoned orphans despite having living relatives in their native countries.