For international couples in Korea, adoption proves impossible dream

Thomas Pallett, a 42-year-old British man, and his Korean wife, Ms. Kang, have long planned to adopt a Korean child. But that dream has been thwarted multiple times — mainly because of Korean adoption agencies’ unwillingness.

Thomas Pallett, right, and his Korean wife. The couple wanted to adopt a Korean child. [THOMAS PALLETT]

Thomas Pallett, a 42-year-old British man, and his Korean wife, Ms. Kang, have long planned to adopt a Korean child. But that dream has been thwarted multiple times — mainly because of Korean adoption agencies’ unwillingness.

After years of unsuccessful efforts to conceive a baby, the couple shifted their attention to adoption. They knocked on the doors of three adoption agencies based in Korea — Holt, Korea Welfare Services and the Eastern Social Welfare Society — all of which declined to provide adoption services to the couple.

They told the couple that “both parents should be Korean nationals” and “there are no adoption programs available for international couples in Korea.” One institution advised that the couple could adopt a child when Pallett was naturalized and obtained Korean citizenship.

In response to the rejections, Pallett filed a complaint to the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission in March last year. The commission answered that “foreign nationals can adopt children under governmental protection if they satisfy qualifications stipulated by the current Act on Special Cases concerning Adoption.”

After receiving the response from the Korean authority, Pallett went to the British Embassy in Seoul to seek his country's support in stating his qualifications to be an adopter.

In January, Pallett received confirmation from the British Embassy in Seoul that he was not bound by British adoption regulations, as “he is not habitually resident in the British Islands.” The embassy also clarified that adoption permitted and cleared by Korean law will be “automatically recognized by English, Welsh and Scottish law.”

An image of a document issued by the British Embassy in Seoul which states that Mr. Pallett is not a habitual resident of Britain and that adoptions enacted by Korean law would be automatically recognized by the British legal system. [THOMAS PALLETT]

Pallet revisited the adoption agencies with the embassy’s document and response from the commission. However, the agencies maintained their stance, turning down the couple’s adoption request.

Pallett told the JoongAng Ilbo that it was heartbreaking that the agencies refused to assess his qualifications as an adopting parent because of his foreign nationality, especially when all he was trying to do was raise a Korean child with his Korean wife.

The unsupportive and reluctant attitudes of domestic adoption agencies hinder Korea-based international couples’ attempts to adopt Korean children, even when the current law does not bar them from adoption.

Pallett’s case is not unprecedented. A married couple in Daegu underwent similar experiences even after they obtained the blessing of the adoptee child’s biological parent.

Williamson, second from left, and his wife and children throw a birthday party for a year-old boy who was under their foster care. [LEE SUK]

Williamson, a civilian contractor working with the U.S. military in Daegu, and his wife, Lee Suk, have been providing foster care to a four-year-old boy for three years and three months.

When the boy’s biological mother, who was a minor at the moment of childbirth, said she hoped that Williamson and Lee would adopt her son, the couple said they would like to do so.

However, the local district office said the child "must be sent to the adoption agency first and see if any Korean couples are willing to adopt him.” It said Williamson and Lee “could adopt the boy when there are no Korean applicants.”

There has been only one case where a foreign couple residing in Korea successfully adopted a Korean child.

David Jea (right) stands next to his adopted daughter, who is carried by Rep. Kim Mi-ae. [KIM MI-AE]

In November, David Jea, former principal officer at the U.S. Consulate in Busan in Korea, and his American wife, who also served in foreign service, obtained a court’s permission after a 3.5-year legal process.

When the couple first attempted to adopt a five-year-old child whose biological parental rights were relinquished, the authorities said no. This prompted them to seek a ruling from the court, which sided with the couple.

Even after they completed their duties at the Korea-based mission, the couple occasionally visited Korea and attended court proceedings.

“It is an unusual case where the couple bypassed adoption agencies’ review and filed a lawsuit to the court and obtained such an approval,” a Health Ministry official said.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, a total of 2,903 Korean children were adopted by foreign parents overseas between 2014 and last year, equivalent to 42.3 percent of 6,817 domestic adoptees during the same period.

On average, around 290 Korean children were sent to foreign households outside Korea yearly. Yet, Korea-based international couples’ hopes to adopt Korean children remain challenging.

“Blocking international couples’ adoption in Korea conflicts with the adoption act’s clause permitting foreign adoption in cases when the child could not find adoptive parents in Korea,” attorney Min Ji-won said. She said, “Each case should be assessed considering what is best for the child.”

Updated, Aug. 22: Added sentence about Pallet's seeking of assistance from the British Embassy in Seoul.

BY SON SUNG-BAE, LEE SOO-JUNG [lee.soojung1@joongang.co.kr]