Adoptee deported from US over lack of citizenship criticizes South Korea, agency
 

SEOUL, South Korea -- SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Adam Crapser, an adoptee who was deported to South Korea in 2016 because his American parents never secured his citizenship, delivered a scathing denunciation of the Korean government and his adoption agency in a Seoul appeals court on Wednesday.

The 49-year-old’s yearslong legal battle highlights the systemic failures by both governments to secure citizenship for potentially thousands of Korean children adopted into U.S. homes over the past decades.

Crapser, who was adopted by a family in Michigan in 1979, became the first Korean adoptee to sue the Korean government and an adoption agency for damages in 2019.

The government and Crapser’s agency, Holt Children’s Services, were also sued earlier this month by a Korean birth mother who sees them as responsible for her daughter’s adoption to the United States in 1976, months after the child was kidnapped at age 4.

The lawsuits, along with an ongoing fact-finding investigation into grievances reported by hundreds of adoptees who suspect their origins were falsified or obscured, have increased pressure on the Korean government to address the widespread fraud and dubious practices that tarnished its historic adoption program.

Crapser accuses Holt and the Korean government of “malfeasance” that contributed to his traumatic adoption experience in the U.S. He says he was abused and abandoned by two different pairs of adoptive parents who never filed his citizenship papers. He ran into legal troubles as an adult that resulted in his deportation in 2016.

Crapser cried as he talked about struggling to adjust to life in Korea, without the ability to speak the language and lacking knowledge about the culture, and how he feels tormented by the separation from his two children, including a 10-year-old daughter.

“I’m supposed to be in America. I’m supposed to be living my life there, working. I spent my whole life there working hard, trying to … have a family all these years,” he said.

Source : https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/adoptee-deported-us-criticizes-korean-government-adoption-agency-115059729

Comprehension

Who is Adam Crapser, and why was he deported to South Korea?
Why did Crapser sue the Korean government and Holt Children’s Services?
What issue does Crapser’s legal battle highlight regarding Korean adoptees in the U.S.?
What other legal case was mentioned that involves the Korean government and Holt Children’s Services?
What has increased pressure on the Korean government regarding its adoption program?
How did Crapser describe his experience in the U.S. with his adoptive parents?
What struggles has Crapser faced since returning to Korea?
How does Crapser feel about his separation from his children?

Discussion

How might Adam Crapser’s case influence future adoption policies between South Korea and the U.S.?
What are the potential long-term effects on adoptees who face deportation due to citizenship issues?
How can governments and adoption agencies work together to prevent future cases like Crapser's?
In what ways could the Korean government address the grievances reported by adoptees who believe their origins were falsified?
What emotional and psychological challenges do adoptees like Crapser face when returning to a country they have no cultural connection to?
How should countries like South Korea and the U.S. handle cases where adoptees were never granted citizenship by their adoptive parents?
What are the ethical responsibilities of adoption agencies in ensuring the well-being and legal rights of adoptees?
How might the ongoing fact-finding investigation into fraudulent adoption practices affect international adoption programs in South Korea?

Vocabulary

Adoptee – A person who has been adopted.
Denunciation – A public condemnation or criticism.
Systemic – Relating to a system, especially when affecting an entire system rather than just part of it.
Malfeasance – Wrongdoing or misconduct, especially by a public official or an organization.
Grievance – A formal complaint or feeling of injustice.
Dubious – Hesitating or doubting; not to be relied upon.
Fact-finding – The act of gathering information to establish the facts in an issue or dispute.
Abandon – To leave someone or something behind.
Tormented – Experiencing severe mental or physical suffering.
Fraud – Wrongful or criminal deception intended to result in financial or personal gain.