Small Protest Held In Front of NCRC On Behalf of Dying French Holt Adoptee Matthieu Sung-Tan.

Posted to Paperslip - March 13th, 2025
Protest Held in front of NCRC on March 12th, 2025 (Wednesday), at 11 AM (Korea Time)

Sign The Petition For Matthieu Sung-Tan’s Rights Here.

Original NGO NEWS article:
NCRC Must Disclose The Information On Matthieu Sung-Tan’s biological parents!
The government must implement institutional reforms to protect the rights of adoptees!
NGO Global News

See Related Article:
NCRC Denies Birth Family Search Exception Clause for Holt French Korean Adoptee With Fatal Insomnia.

See NCRC’s NEW ADDRESS here:
IMPORTANT! New Changes Coming To NCRC in 2025 - Including NEW Address!

Noting that NCRC moved to a NEW ADDRESS in late February 2025 without ANY notification on its ENGLISH website. NCRC only made a tiny notice on its KOREAN website of its upcoming move, just days before NCRC actually moved. So Korean Adoptees were provided with NO NOTICE of NCRC’s move to a new address, apart from what we shared here to Paperslip. This lack of consideration is indicative of NCRC’s behavior toward Adoptees over years of time.

+

Translation via ChatGPT:

”NCRC Must Disclose The Information on Matthieu Sung-Tan’s Biological Parents! The government must implement institutional reforms to protect the rights of adoptees!

NGO Global News | Article Input 2025/03/12 [20:58]

On March 12, 2025 (Wednesday), at 11 AM, a rally was held in front of the National Center for the Rights of the Child (NCRC), urging the disclosure of biological parents' information for overseas adoptee Matthieu Sung-Tan. © NGO Global News

Following the January 14 report by PD Notebook (MBC) titled "The Missing Adoption Records: A Country That Erased Me," the NCRC apologized to the public, stating, "We will do our best to thoroughly organize adoption records to help adoptees find their families." In this context, the rally calling for the disclosure of biological parents' information for Matthieu Sung-Tan held even greater significance.

Born in Korea in 1986, Matthieu was adopted to France at the age of 5 months and is currently suffering from a rare disease suspected to be fatal familial insomnia (FFI). To treat this condition, genetic information from his biological parents is needed; however, the NCRC has refused to disclose this information citing privacy laws, leaving him unable to receive appropriate treatment at a hospital in France.

Despite recognizing the urgent need to disclose the biological parents' information for Matthieu's treatment, the NCRC has continued to deny the request. The rally, organized by the Montaigne Overseas Adoption Solidarity, included participation from organizations such as the Unwed Mother Archiving and Advocacy Institute, the Alliance for Children's Rights, the I Am a Parent Association, and the Citizens' Movement for the Elimination of Corruption (abbreviated as Bouchusil). They strongly urged compliance with Article 36, Paragraph 3 of the Special Adoption Act in front of the NCRC. Additionally, journalists from several media outlets, including JoongAng Ilbo, Yonhap News, Economy Talk News, Daehan Maeil Shinbo, and NGO Global News, covered the event.

In relation to this, an information officer from the Namdaemun Police Station attended the rally and delivered a statement read at the event to the head of the NCRC, emphasizing the importance of saving a life and formally requesting the disclosure of Matthieu’s biological parents' information.

Furthermore, the rally demanded that institutional reforms to protect the rights of adoptees be implemented promptly. Currently, Matthieu is experiencing severe insomnia, memory loss, and psychiatric symptoms, and French medical professionals have stated that accurate diagnosis and treatment are impossible without parental genetic testing. Moreover, Matthieu's two children are also at risk of hereditary diseases, making the acquisition of parental genetic information even more urgent.

Attending civic organizations declared that the fact that overseas adoptees are not guaranteed even basic medical rights is a clear violation of human rights and strongly urged the Korean government and NCRC to provide immediate solutions.

It is expected that this rally will raise social awareness to ensure the right to a happy life for overseas adoptees is recognized internationally.

Reporter: Ma Kyung-eon”