My Official Response to the News from the UK and South Korea

On July 2nd, 2026, the UK government made global headlines as Sir Keir Starmer delivered a public apology to the victims of "forced adoptions" that occurred from 1949 to 1976 in England and Wales. Survivors of the estimated 185,000 babies who were wrongfully taken from their mothers finally received a hard fought, long-awaited acknowledgement for the pain they have been made to endure their whole lives. On the other side of the world, Korean mothers are also being acknowledged for the loss of their children.

The next day, an article was published in The Korea Times once again bringing attention to the ongoing investigation of human rights violations in overseas adoptions. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission has received 437 new cases since February 28th this year all of which involved human rights violations. Since the start of the Commission 100 days ago, criticism has been mounting about the delays in the process, lack of follow through, poor planning in the care and support of victims and even of the recommendations made by the Commission.

At the start of the Commission, it was already known that approximately 200,000 Korean infants and children were taken and sold in a well-established global child supply market. Let's just say the truth of what it is at this point. An article from 2024 describes a snapshot of what these mothers and children have experienced for the last 80 years:

"A commission set up by the South Korean government has revealed that thousands of mothers were forced to give up their children for adoption abroad. Around 200,000 children, conceived by poor parents, especially single mothers, in government-funded welfare centres were adopted in nations like Australia, Denmark and the United States since the 1950s. In most of the cases; hospitals, maternity wards and adoption agencies would unilaterally declare mothers ‘mentally ill’ or unfit to raise children. A report from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission revealed that parents would sometimes be misled about the foreign adoption system, forcing them into believing that their children would come back. The adoptees would be told that their lives would be much better in high-income Western nations and not in impoverished South Korea." - Vikrant Singh, WION

Speaking truth to power against the propaganda and false narratives we have heard about adoption our entire lives, these are not just human rights violations, but are in fact crimes against humanity. This goes well beyond identifying whether wrongdoing was committed from one case to the next. Doing so ignores that this is a multibillion dollar criminal industry that created a way to operate legally in plain sight. It has gotten away with murder. It has gotten away with slavery. It has gotten away with genocides. While it may be validating to say "mothers were misled" and "forced to believe" it is an insult to the millions of those who have been preyed upon and became victims of these crimes. The false narratives and watered down versions of their realities needs to stop. Using such language is abusive to survivors. It perpetuates the coercive control inflicted on them.

A story about a mother, Lee Aeri Rana, is highlighted in the Korea Times news article. She gave birth to a daughter and was told she died a week after she was born. Years later she learned that her daughter, Park Mi-ae, had lived and was sold to a couple, grew up in conflict and then killed herself. She was alone and homeless. What was done to this mother and daughter is unconscionable. It was intentional and just one of millions who have suffered the same process for decades. All for profit. The same process that was used over 400 years ago during the British Child Migration Schemes. Children were sourced from impoverished British families on the promise of a better life overseas. However, those children were relabeled "orphans" and put to work in child labor camps.

Today, children go through the very same process and sent overseas to work in a variety of markets and industries, namely the child influencer market for content creators hoping to monetize off their "adoption journeys." In truth, this is modern day child slavery. When done across races, this becomes more apparent. Who is often left out of these narratives are the child victims who are bought and murdered. We rarely revive the stories of Hyunsu O'Callaghan and the Sueppel family.

On paper, Brian Patrick O’ Callaghan was an All-American role model, a former marine, worked for the NSA, and lived outside Washington DC. However, on Feb 3rd 2014, Hyunsu died after suffering multiple blunt force injuries including a fractured skull and internal bleeding on the brain. He was only 3 years old. It was confirmed O'Callaghan had killed him.

In 2008, Steven Sueppel was a banker living with his family in Iowa City, Iowa. On Easter Sunday, Steven first attempted to kill the 4 Korean children he and his wife had purchased by carbon monoxide poisoning in the family van. However, when that didn't work he used baseball bats to bludgeon them to death. He did the same to his wife and then drove the car into a concrete abatement off the highway and killed himself. A month earlier, he had been caught for embezzling $560,000 at his job. The children were ages 3, 5, 7, and 10 years old.

As the investigation into human rights violations continues in Korea, what is being done about the Korean children sold and murdered? What happened to the 4 Korean children in Iowa was almost 20 years ago and Hyunsu was murdered 10 years ago. Many more of us like Lee's daughter ended up in abusive homes. Many of us have taken our own lives just to end the pain of a severed soul. There is no reconciliation for the dead. The harm inflicted on our families is irrevocable and felt for generations. Late last year, President Lee Jae Myung did deliver an apology for the historical wrongdoings in "overseas adoptions" as recommended by the Commission. However in the same speech, he let the industry know that Korea will continue doing adoptions, just under new management.

This is the truth we are faced with: this is a criminal industry running a multibillion dollar child supply market that has profited in the billions of dollars from destroying millions of human lives and generations of families. It has gotten away with several of the worst crimes against humanity in history and not one government has been held accountable nor has done anything to shut it down. Until we, the people, take a stand, this industry will never stop.