Eight South Korean-born adoptees have filed a lawsuit against Denmark, claiming the state failed to protect their right to know their origins.
The adoptees argue that Danish authorities helped conceal information about their biological families during adoptions that took place decades ago. Each plaintiff is seeking 250,000 kroner in damages.
One of the plaintiffs, Sofie Randel, arrived in Denmark with her younger brother in 1977. She later discovered that they had not been abandoned, as stated in their adoption papers. Instead, their mother had placed them in an orphanage during a period of financial hardship.
After years of searching, Randel and her brother reunited with their siblings in South Korea in 2023. Their family had been looking for them for 45 years.
South Korea sent more than 140,000 children overseas for adoption between 1955 and 1999. Between 1970 and 1989, more than 7,200 South Korean children were adopted in Denmark.
A 2024 report by Denmark’s National Social Appeals Board found that Danish adoption agencies knew their South Korean partners sometimes altered children’s identities. South Korea formally apologised in 2025 for human rights violations linked to overseas adoptions.
Denmark suspended international adoptions in 2024 after concerns about adoption practices came to light. The Danish social affairs ministry has declined to comment on the lawsuit.
