SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A South Korean court on Wednesday cleared the government and an adoption agency of all liability in a lawsuit filed by a 49-year-old Korean man whose traumatic adoption journey led to an abusive childhood in the United States and ultimately his deportation to South Korea in 2016 after legal troubles.
In exonerating the South Korean government over the case of Adam Crapser, whose U.S. adoptive parents never secured his citizenship, the Seoul High Court overturned a 2023 lower court ruling that ordered his adoption agency, Holt Children’s Services, to pay him 100 million won ($68,600) in damages. The Seoul Central District Court ruled that Holt should have informed his adoptive parents that they needed to take additional steps to secure his citizenship after his adoption was finalized in their state court, but didn’t find the government at fault for Crapser’s plight.
The full text of the Seoul High Court’s ruling wasn’t immediately available. Crapser didn’t attend the ruling.
Crapser, a married father of two, says he was abused and abandoned by two different adoptive families who never filed his citizenship papers. He got into trouble with the law — once for breaking into his adoptive parents’ home to retrieve the Bible that came with him from the orphanage — and was deported because he was not a U.S. citizen.
In their defense against the accusations of malfeasance raised by Crapser, the government and Holt both cited a 1970s adoption law established under a military dictatorship that was designed to speed up adoptions.
The law, enacted in January 1977, eased adoption agencies’ obligations to check on the citizenship status of the children they sent overseas and removed judicial oversight of foreign adoptions, as part of various steps to empower agencies to process adoptions faster.
The government and Holt, which facilitated Crapser’s adoption to Michigan in 1979, both invoked the law to argue they had no legal responsibility to ensure that he received his citizenship.
Critics say the law enabled careless and fraudulent practices that helped fuel what’s believed to be the largest international adoption program in history. From the 1960s to 1980s, South Korea was ruled by a succession of military leaders who prioritized economic growth and promoted adoptions as a way to get rid of mouths to feed and establish closer ties with the West.
Crapser’s lawyer didn’t immediately say whether he would appeal the verdict to the Supreme Court. The Justice Ministry, which represents the government in lawsuits, and Holt didn’t immediately comment on the ruling.
More than 4,000 Korean children were sent abroad in 1979, the year Crapser was sent to a family in Michigan at age 3. He became the first Korean adoptee to sue the South Korean government and an adoption agency for damages in 2019.
The government and Holt were also sued last year by a Korean birth mother who said they were responsible for her daughter’s adoption to the United States in 1976, months after the child was kidnapped at age 4.
The lawsuits, combined with an ongoing fact-finding investigation into complaints from hundreds of adoptees who suspect their origins were falsified or obscured, have put pressure on the South Korean government to address the widespread fraud and questionable practices of the past.
Crapser’s lawsuit accused Holt of manipulating his paperwork to describe him as an orphan despite the existence of a known birth mother, exposing him to abusive adoptive parents by botching background checks and not following up on whether he obtained U.S. citizenship.
It said government officials should also be held accountable for failing to protect Crapser’s constitutional rights as a South Korean child, poorly monitoring an agency they licensed to handle foreign adoptions and not verifying whether his adoption was based on proper consent or whether his adoptive families were qualified to be decent parents.
FILE - South Korean adoptee Adam Crapser speaks during an interview in Seoul, South Korea, on Jan. 2, 2019. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)
MADONNA DI CAMPIGLIO, Italy (AP) — Albert Popov gave Bulgaria’s ski team its first World Cup victory in 45 years by triumphing in a slalom on Wednesday as four of the favorites skied out of the night race in Madonna Di Campiglio.
The victory came on the anniversary of Peter Popangelov’s lone win for Bulgaria, in Lenggries, Germany, on Jan. 8, 1980.
“A long time ago,” Popov said. “It means a lot and I want to see more children on the skis in Bulgaria, and I think this is going to do a big thing for them and they’re going to start to believe that it’s possible, and I think it’s very important for our country.”
Eighth-fastest after the opening run, Popov put down a brilliant second run on the Canalone Miramonti course and the 27-year-old tipped his head back and let out a scream of joy after crossing the finish line.
He then faced an anxious wait to see if it would be good enough for what would be a second-ever podium place. And it turned into the most unlikely of victories.
Reigning slalom World Cup champion Manuel Feller looked set to challenge him but he lost his balance and hit a gate, failing to finish for the third time in five starts in slalom this season.
Atle Lie McGrath had dominated the first run, leading by more than half a second, and was hoping for a first victory in almost three years.
The Norwegian had an advantage of 1.21 over Popov after the first split but he threw away his colossal lead as he straddled a gate.
“It’s a dream come true and it’s a long time coming,” Popov said. “I’ve been waiting a lot and I’m happy that it’s in Madonna Di Campiglio. I love the race, I love the slope, I love the people.”
Popov finished 0.44 ahead of Loic Meillard of Switzerland and 0.46 ahead of Croatia’s Samuel Kolega, who recorded his first-ever World Cup podium.
“I’m really lost for words a little bit right now,” Kolega said. "There’s been a lot of work to get here. There’s a lot of people to thank for this. It’s not just me, it’s the whole team, a lot of people who stood behind me all the time.
“It’s not just the podium for me today. I never actually scored World Cup points on this hill before and today it was really such a breakthrough for me.”
Olympic champion Clement Noel, who won the opening two slalom races of the season, and Norwegian skier Timon Haugan, who dominated the last slalom in Alta Badia, both skied out on the first run.
Meillard moved top of the discipline standings, 10 points ahead of world champion Henrik Kristoffersen and 85 points above Noel.
“Definitely not the easiest race, it’s always a challenge here in Madonna,” Meillard said. “Some mistakes happened, but at the end, another podium.
“At the moment, it’s working well. When you have a few good results, you have also confidence and you can push a bit more.”
Three-time defending overall champion Marco Odermatt, who does not compete in slaloms, remained top of the overall standings but saw his lead trimmed to 116 points above Kristoffersen.
There is another slalom in Adelboden, Switzerland in just three days, with a giant slalom the following day, and three more slalom races among a packed January calendar.
“We wanted to be in the top form in January. So with the first race, first win — this is amazing,” Popov said. “Thanks to my team, to my family. Gaia, my daughter. Thank you. This was for you guys.”
Norway's Atle Lie McGrath speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Bulgaria's Albert Popov celebrates winning an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)
Bulgaria's Albert Popov, center, winner of an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, poses on podium with second placed Switzerland's Loic Meillard, left, and third placed Croatia's Samuel Kolega, in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)
Bulgaria's Albert Popov sprays sparkling wine as he celebrates on podium winning an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)
Bulgaria's Albert Popov celebrates winning an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)
Bulgaria's Albert Popov speeds down the course on his way to win an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Bulgaria's Albert Popov, center, winner of an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom, poses with second placed Switzerland's Loic Meillard, left, and third placed Croatia's Samuel Kolega, in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)
Bulgaria's Albert Popov celebrates winning an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)
Bulgaria's Albert Popov gets to the finish area after completing an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati)
Norway's Henrik Kristoffersen speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Norway's Timon Haugan speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati
France's Clement Noel speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.8, 2025. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
Norway's Atle Lie McGrath speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati
Norway's Atle Lie McGrath speeds down the course during an alpine ski, men's World Cup slalom in Madonna di Campiglio, Italy, Wednesday, Jan.8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandro Trovati
