Han last saw the six-year-old when she declined to join her on a market trip. Decades later, DNA testing revealed her daughter had been adopted abroad under the name Laurie Bender.
Han Tae-soon is suing the South Korean government over the disappearance of her daughter Kyung-ha, who vanished in 1975 near their Seoul home.
Han last saw the six-year-old when she declined to join her on a market trip. Decades later, DNA testing revealed her daughter had been adopted abroad under the name Laurie Bender.
Han alleges Kyung-ha was kidnapped, falsely declared an orphan, and illegally adopted to the US. Her lawsuit is one of two landmark cases linked to South Korea’s controversial overseas adoption programme. “I spent 44 years ruining my body and mind searching… Has anyone ever apologised? No one,” she told the BBC.
In 2019, mother and daughter reunited at Seoul’s airport. Han, now 71, recognised her daughter by her hair. “I’m so sorry,” she told her. Kyung-ha recalled being deceived by a woman claiming her mother no longer wanted her.
A 2024 inquiry found successive governments failed to regulate adoptions, enabling child trafficking and falsified records. The government expressed “deep regret” and pledged action pending trial results. Overseas adoptions have since declined, but victims like Han continue to seek justice and healing.