Bill Vorhees, formerly known as Lee Jung-won, and his involuntary journey from South Korea to an adoptive family in the U.S. underscores the profound risks inherent in international adoption practices: the personal trauma endured by adoptees and the pervasive illegal and unethical adoption practices.

At just 7 years old, Vorhees’ life was irrevocably altered in 1976 when he was snatched from his mother. His abductors subsequently handed him over to Holt Children’s Services, a South Korean adoption agency, which falsely designated him as an orphan.

Vorhees was then adopted by a single U.S. man, who subjected him to abuse and