Public outrage has grown after a 4-month-old infant died from abuse in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, and a petition on the National Assembly’s public-consent petition board calling for tougher penalties for child abuse has surpassed the necessary threshold.
The petition, titled “Request to Strengthen Punishments for Child Abuse,” was posted on the National Assembly’s public-consent board on the 5th and had collected 57,829 signatures as of 4 p.m. on the 10th. Under the system, any petition that receives more than 50,000 signatures within 30 days is forwarded to the relevant parliamentary standing committee for review.
The 17-year-old student who filed the petition wrote, “My heart breaks that an infant who could not protect themselves died after being abused by the person closest to them — a parent,” adding, “Abuse against young infants must never be treated lightly.”
The petition proposes several legal changes: increasing statutory penalties for child-abuse crimes that cause death or serious injury; imposing harsher sentences for crimes against infants under one year old; limiting sentence reductions for repeat offenders; and strengthening punishments for caregiver-perpetrated abuse.
Korean Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse: “Too many fatal abuse cases remain undisclosed in detail”
The Korean Association for the Prevention of Child Abuse also issued strong criticism. The group said most fatal child-abuse cases occur in the home and often lack detailed public disclosure, and that this case revealed the horrific scope of the abuse only because home-camera footage existed.
The association noted that sentences for killing infants in South Korea tend to be relatively light — most result in prison terms under ten years — and that the deceased infant has no advocate to speak for them while trials proceed based on the living perpetrator’s testimony and displays of remorse. The group argued that those convicted of killing a child should face the maximum statutory penalty.
According to prosecutors, the mother, identified as A, was arrested and indicted on charges that she assaulted her 4-month-old son at the family home in Yeosu on Oct. 22 last year and left him in a bathtub, where he died. The autopsy found fractures in 23 locations, including the ribs, and concluded the cause of death was hemorrhagic shock from multiple traumatic injuries and multiple organ failure. The coroner suggested repeated traumatic injuries may have preceded drowning.
The father, identified as B, is on trial alongside A on charges of neglect in relation to child abuse. Both initially denied the abuse but admitted it after prosecutors presented home-camera footage. They maintain they did not intend to kill the infant.
A faces charges of homicide resulting from child abuse, and B faces charges of child-abuse neglect; both are currently on trial. They have reportedly retained eight attorneys from a major domestic law firm, and the sentencing hearing is scheduled for the 26th.
