Dad’s endless walk from San Francisco to retrieve his missing children believed to be in Korea

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John Sichie won’t stop putting on miles on his treadmill until his kids are found and brought back to the Bay Area.

A San Francisco resident and software engineer must single-handedly bring his 6-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter back to the US after his wife took them to Korea about four years ago and never returned. His children were not named for legal reasons.

The incident has since evolved into an international parental kidnapping case that has left US and South Korean officials deadlocked over how to enforce court custody orders and the international treaty of the Hague Convention.

San Francisco resident John Sichi (center) went looking for his two young children after his wife took them to South Korea about four years ago and never returned. | Contributed by John Sichi

To draw attention to his cause, Sichi has been walking alone on a treadmill in parts of Seoul, South Korea, since October, walking 176 miles and averaging 6 to 9 miles a day in good weather. He is determined to continue his “solitary protest” until he is reunited with his children, or “I drown in my own sweat,” he told The Standard.

He is also campaigning for 50,000 signatures on a petition to be sent to the Korean National Assembly by Feb. 24.

Sichi said he chose the treadmill as a visual metaphor for the struggle to reunite with his children, but was unable to make progress. He also hopes that the film will overcome language barriers and expose his plight to the South Korean public.

“When I first started the protest, I thought that people would laugh at me or ignore me, just pass by,” Sichi said. “That’s not what happened. So many people were curious, wanted to understand what was going on.”

Sichi’s international legal battle began during a difficult period in his marriage, when his wife took her toddlers on a trip to South Korea in November 2019.

“Our marriage was unhappy for a while, and so she said she wanted to spend some time with her family and cool off a bit,” said Sichi, who expected his wife to return with the kids in about a month.

Sichi, who has since filed for divorce, says he tried to negotiate with his wife to bring the kids back to San Francisco. But after those attempts failed, Sichi went to the San Francisco County Superior Court, which ruled in August 2020 that the children should be returned to the US.

John Sicha’s two young children are at the center of an international parental kidnapping case between the US and South Korea. | Contributed by John Sichi

The Seoul Family Court later ruled that the children be immediately returned to their usual place of residence in accordance with the Hague Convention, a tiered treaty between the United States and some 90 countries that provides guarantees for international adoption and works to prevent kidnapping, sale, or human trafficking. children. The Korean Supreme Court later upheld the lower court’s decision. But Sichi has run into problems because the South Korean government is enforcing the order.

In May 2022, Sichi, accompanied by a bailiff, attempted to take the children from their mother’s then-flat, but faced resistance from his wife. Ultimately, the officer was unable to enforce the order because the children did not consent to being separated from their mother, Sichi said.

Sichi recalled that at that moment he felt completely helpless, and after the incident he did not physically see his children.

“This is the end of law enforcement,” Sichi said. “All this time and effort has gone into putting the children in a good position and enforcing court decisions. And then just this completely broken system is used as an obstacle to the correct resolution of the case.

The Standard contacted Sicha’s wife’s law firm, Yulchon, who declined to comment further.

Since August 2020, Sichi has spent most of his time in South Korea trying to regain custody of his children. He was previously able to see his children during court-ordered visits throughout 2021, until the incident in May 2022. Sichi told The Standard that he recently reconnected with his children via audio calls and is working with the US State Department to find them.

“Little mini-break”

“It was a little mini-break,” Sichi said of the calls. “The calls have been very stressful and difficult, but at least they can hear my voice saying, ‘Daddy is here. I love you. I miss you.’ I say it in English and Korean to let them know that I’m really trying to reunite with them.”

Sichi describes working with various government agencies here and abroad to track down his children as “painfully slow” and difficult. While Sichi praises the US State Department’s efforts, including a visit to South Korea by one of the Department’s special advisers on children’s affairs, Sichi has been highly critical of the South Korean government’s handling of the case.

John Sichi says he has not seen his son and younger daughter since May 2022. | Contributed by John Sichi

“[The Korean Ministry of Justice] just throws up his hands on every occasion and says, “Sorry, we can’t help with that.” We cannot do this. Talk to your lawyer. They never helped in any way, including things like finding the kids. So it’s super, super, super disappointing,” said Sichi, who believes international detention protocols need to be drastically reformed.

“The current process is what I would call effectively state-sponsored child abuse,” Sichi said.

The South Korean Ministry of Justice did not respond to The Standard’s request for comment.

A 2022 State Department report identified a “system of non-compliance” with aspects of the Hague Convention and said, “Korean law enforcement has routinely failed to comply with return orders in kidnapping cases.”

Asked by The Standard for comment on the case, the US State Department said: “We regularly raise the need to resolve pending international cases of parental abduction in accordance with the Hague Convention. […] The Department actively engages with parents, stakeholders, and countries around the world to identify, resolve, and prevent cases of IPCA.”

As part of an online campaign, John Sichi is asking citizens and residents of Korea to sign a petition to send to the National Assembly of South Korea by February 24, 2023. | Contributed by John Sichi

For now, all Sichi can do is keep moving forward.

“The start of the protest was actually very motivating,” Sichi said. “It’s a way to take responsibility in a situation where it’s very difficult to get help from any government officials.”

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texasstandard.news contributed to this report.

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