Handwritten note shows: Inspection will 'urgently interfere with' examining adoption bureau

A 30-year-old, handwritten note is another example of the responsibility of Danish authorities regarding adoptions to Denmark needing to be thoroughly investigated.

This is the assessment of a professor of welfare law and an external lecturer in administrative law, who have read the note.

The then supervising authority would "carefully" investigate whether the scandal-ridden (http://apnews.com/article/south-korea-international-adoption-fraud-investigation-e4e7d4b8823212e3b260517c5128cd66) South Korean adoption bureau, Holt International, was an "acceptable contact." This is shown by a note from the Civil Rights Directorate, which at the time oversaw the adoption area in Denmark.

"If we were to do something, it would be to carefully investigate whether Holt (South Korean adoption bureau, red.) is an acceptable contact, and I (among us said) would carefully consider it," it reads in a note from the Civil Rights Directorate, which a DR has gained insight into.

The note shows that the authority knew that things were not going "entirely according to the book," but did not react to it. This is the assessment of Klaus Josefsen, who is an external lecturer in administrative law at Aarhus University and has followed the adoption area for several years.

- They acted passively despite suspicions of possible irregularities or illegality. In my opinion, it is a failure of the authority's supervisory responsibility.

Caroline Adolphsen is a professor of welfare law at Aarhus University and does not find it clear from the note whether it would have activated the supervisory responsibility.

- But it is still a good example of how the responsibility and the system's function in Denmark's adoption mediation should be investigated.

The case in question was in 1994 ended with the Civil Rights Directorate because a woman adopted from South Korea was looking for information about her biological family. An employee of the Civil Rights Directorate concluded that they could not help the adoptee.

The case was then set aside. When the adoptee received full insight into her entire case in 2023, the note from the Civil Rights Directorate was attached.

- When one questions whether Holt is an "acceptable contact" it means that one is skeptical. It is not good enough handled from the authorities' or "system's" side, adds Caroline Adolphsen.

It is a problem that the supervising authority did not try to refute a possible suspicion or investigated Holt more closely, underlines Klaus Josefsen:

- One accepts implicitly the risk that potential irregularities and illegality continue. One closes one's eyes and is disappointed.

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Report: Adoption Bureau Forged Adoption Papers

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The South Korean adoption bureau, Holt International, collaborated at the time with the Danish adoption bureau DanAdopt, which closed in 2014 after a series of revelations. (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/danadopt-tvunget-til-stop-af-adoptioner-fra-etiopien)

Several South Korean adoptees received forged their adoption papers, were adopted without consent, and there was an "unfortunate economic incentive structure" in the two South Korean adoption bureaus Holt International and Korean Social Service (KSS).

It was established by the Ombudsman in a report, which came out last year. The conclusion also stated that Danish adoption bureaus were aware of the practice. It was not clear from the report whether the Danish supervising authority knew anything.

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Eight Adoptees Demand Millions from the State

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At the end of November this year, eight adoptees made demands for compensation from the Danish state (http://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/otte-adopterede-kraever-millionerstatning-af-staten-brud-paa-deres)

They are all adopted from South Korea in the period 1970-1982 and believe that Danish authorities have not lived up to their responsibility to protect the adoptees' rights.

- They forged papers, and they ensured that consent from the biological parents was not obtained. That is what we believe that the Danish state was responsible for, because they have approved our clients' adoptions, even though they were aware of the adoption procedure, it sounded from Lisa Dalgas Christensen, lawyer at Pramming Lawyers, who represents the adoptees.

The compensation amount is two million kroner - that is 250,000 kroner to each of the adoptees, if the state meets their demands.

The compensation case was submitted to the Ministry of Justice and is not yet decided.

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Government Wants "Comprehensive Investigation"

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DR has presented social and housing minister Sophie Hæstorp Andersen (S) with criticism of the internal note.

Her response sounds:

- I do not know the concrete case and what lies behind it - but there is no doubt that back in time children were adopted to international adoption in a way that does not correspond to the requirements we have today.

- That is also why the government wants a comprehensive investigation of the adoption system back in time. An investigation that covers all the countries that have been adopted from to Denmark, and that also describes the role of the Danish authorities.

DR has also presented the Ombudsman with criticism, which returns with a quick answer as soon as possible.

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Social Minister in Consultation

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Sophie Hæstorp Andersen will today in consultation to answer whether she will reconsider her decision on how an investigation of the adoption area should look.

Last year, the adoption area was in a "regular crisis" after several revelations, (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/krise-paa-omraadet-international-adoption-man-kan-ikke-vaere-sikker-paa-barnet-ikke) and the government set money aside for an investigation of the adoption area.

The investigation has met criticism from among others adoptees, spokespersons and experts, because it should be of 'historical character' and not a legal investigation of the authorities' role and responsibility.

Several social spokespersons require that the investigation should cover the knowledge, responsibility and role of Danish authorities and adoption bureaus in international adoption cases, and extend all the way to 2024.

Read also: 'Minister is sticking her head in the sand like a straw': Parties will demand an investigation into the responsibility for adoption scandals (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/ministeren-stikker-hovedet-i-jorden-som-en-struds):

The consultation today is called by the Liberal Alliance and the Danish People's Party on the basis of DR Documentary's podcast series 'Falske Minder'.

In the podcast series, the veil is lifted for a series of adoptions from Lebanon to Denmark in the 1980s, which, according to experts among other things, are done through bribery. The podcast also reveals that the Danish state has been involved. Enhedslisten's social spokesperson Victoria Velasquez has called the revelations (https://www.dr.dk/nyheder/indland/rystede-ordfoerere-reagerer-paa-ny-dr-podcast-et-af-det-mest-uhyggelige-kapitler-i) for "one of the most unpleasant chapters in Danish history."

You can hear the podcast 'Falske Minder' right here in the DR Sound app.

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