Holt Children’s Services has appealed a Seoul court ruling that ordered it pay 100 million won in damages to an internationally-adopted plaintiff for his deportation from his new home country decades after his relocation.

The Seoul-based adoption agency announced the move in a press conference on Thursday, asking the court to reassess how long its custodial duties should have extended in the 1979 adoption of the South Korea-born plaintiff to the U.S.

This came after the Seoul Central District Court ruled in favor of adoptee Adam Crapser in mid-May, recognizing the defendant's “gross negligence” in failing to ensure the child's acquisition of a new nationality in his adoptive country.

Crapser, whose Korean name is Shin Song-hyuk, filed a 200-million-won suit against Holt and the government in 2019.

The court ruled that Holt failed in its duty to protect Crapser as his guardian, pointing out that the agency was not aware of the failure.

The plaintiff also appealed against the court's ruling, pressing the court to further recognize the government's liability.