The South Korean government, Western countries and adoption agencies worked in tandem to satiate intense demand for adoptable babies in the West, despite years of evidence they were being procured through questionable or downright unscrupulous means,

South Korea’s government, Western countries and adoption agencies supplied 200,000 Korean children to parents overseas, despite evidence of questionable means, an AP investigation found.

For adoptees who have looked into their roots, the inaccurate information has led to mistaken reunions, swapped identities and forgotten family histories, according to an Associated Press investigation.

Western governments ignored widespread fraud in South Korean adoptions and sometimes pressured the country to keep the kids coming, an investigation led by The Associated Press has found.