This article examines South Korea’s decades-long international adoption system as a major human rights scandal, arguing that the country’s past role as a leading “baby exporter” was driven by state policy rather than purely humanitarian motives. It explains how, from the post-Korean War era onward, the government promoted overseas adoption as a cost-saving alternative to building domestic social welfare systems, enabling widespread abuses such as falsified records, coerced or fabricated parental consent, and the misclassification of children as orphans. Drawing on findings from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the article highlights how these practices created a vast global adoptee diaspora—many of whom are now uncovering the truth about their origins and struggling to reunite with families due to missing or manipulated records. Overall, it frames the issue as an ongoing reckoning, emphasizing the need for accountability, reparations, and systemic reform to address the long-term harms caused by these policies.