Account
Jan 28, 2026
Jan 28, 2026
Bryan
Sung
9
9
Hispanic / Latino
Male
In the early summer of 2019, a heart-wrenching story began to unfold for a family from Redmond, Washington. Three-year-old Bryan Sung, a young boy with black hair and black eyes, was last seen on June 3, 2019. What was meant to be a temporary three-week visit to South Korea with his mother, Min Jung Cho, turned into an ongoing international custody battle. During what was already a difficult time of divorce proceedings, Bryan's father, Jay Sung, agreed to the trip, trusting in the legal systems and international agreements designed to protect children. However, two weeks into the trip, the unimaginable happened when Cho informed Sung that she and Bryan would not be returning to the United States, severing contact and plunging the family into a years-long nightmare. The years that followed have been a painful and relentless fight for a father to be reunited with his son. In the United States, a court granted Jay Sung full temporary custody and ordered the immediate return of his son. On April 20, 2020, a felony warrant for custodial interference was issued for Min Jung Cho. The case escalated to an international level, with Jay Sung seeking resolution through the Hague Abduction Convention, an international treaty created to address wrongful removal of children across borders. Despite multiple rulings in his favor from courts in both the U.S. and South Korea, including a return order under the Hague Convention, the enforcement of these legal decisions has been met with significant challenges. Several attempts by Korean court officials to enforce the order have been unsuccessful. The complexities of international law have left Bryan's case in a state of limbo. His father has tirelessly advocated for his return, engaging in public awareness campaigns and seeking support from U.S. government officials. This heart-rending situation has even drawn attention from the U.S. Department of State, which has cited Korea for a pattern of noncompliance with the Hague Convention. For Jay Sung, the fight is not just a legal battle but a deeply personal one, marked by years of missed milestones and the profound pain of a father separated from his child. The overview of this case highlights the immense difficulties faced in international child abduction cases, where legal victories do not always translate into the swift return of a child, leaving a family fractured and a father waiting anxiously for his son's return.
Jun 03, 2019
Redmond
Washington
06/13/2026
