[In-Depth Look] An Incident That Happened in a Courtroom

Lawyer Mahan Eol (Source: Duroo Corporation website)

"The defendant is sentenced to three years in prison."

At the moment when the correctional officer linked arms with the defendant, who was detained in court, and was about to leave the room, tears welled up in the defendant’s eyes. In the gallery, the defendant’s 60-day-old baby was held in the arms of A, a teacher from a welfare organization. The defendant was raising the baby alone with the help of the welfare organization and A, without any family. However, without any preparation for the protection and care of the baby, the defendant came to court for trial and was detained in the courtroom. Thus, the baby was left in court separated from the mother after just 60 days. Fortunately, A took good care of the baby for several days until the baby’s mother was released on bail.

This is not a heartwarming story. It is a tragedy showing how children are abandoned in a country where the birth rate hits record lows every year. On the day the baby’s mother was detained in court, A grabbed the correctional officer and asked what would happen if the baby was left behind alone. However, no guidance or advice was given by the correctional officer. No official showed curiosity or verified who A was or whether A was capable of protecting the baby.

The next day, the defendant and A requested the detention center to allow them to raise the baby there, but they were refused due to it being the weekend and the inability to process the request, or citing lack of experience and facilities. They also contacted a child protection agency but were told that since the baby was not a victim of child abuse, protection could not be provided.

The "Act on the Execution of Sentences and Treatment of Prisoners" requires that new inmates with children be informed to request child protection measures, and if a female inmate applies to raise her child up to 18 months old, the warden must approve it. Exceptions for refusal are limited to cases such as illness or injury of the infant or inmate, or infectious diseases within the facility. Despite such laws and systems in place for inmates’ children, why must one still rely on the luck of meeting good people? Could it be because the officials who operate and support the system, as well as our societal awareness, do not consider the child rights of inmates’ children?

Some may argue that it is excessive for a person who has committed a crime to want to live with their child. However, let us reconsider by focusing on the child’s perspective, who must endure the "punishment" of being separated from their parent. The right of a child to live with their parents and to know their parents is guaranteed by the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of the Child. Regardless of whether the parent is incarcerated, all children should be able to enjoy these rights without discrimination.

This aligns with the principle of non-discrimination declared in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and the basic ideology of the Korean Child Welfare Act.

Some say that prisons and detention centers are inappropriate facilities for children to live in. It is true that prisons and detention centers are not designed for children. However, whether it is in the best interest of a child older than 60 days to live with their mother or in a childcare facility, or whether living inside or outside the prison better guarantees the child’s rights to survival and development, depends on the situation. In any case, the child must be given the best legally guaranteed options and the right to choose among them.

Moreover, to this end, expert support is essential so that inmates can seriously consider the upbringing and development of their children and make choices that serve the child’s best interests.

Social welfare experts, scholars, activists, and legal professionals have been researching laws and policies for inmates’ children over the past several years, and the number of people interested and participating in this topic is steadily increasing. This year, discussions about inmates’ children are expected to take place more frequently in many places. However, just like the child who was almost left alone in court, it is a serious concern that inmates’ children are right before our eyes yet remain invisible (or unseen). It is urgent to spread awareness that the difficulties faced by inmates’ children are issues of child rights and to make collective efforts in society to resolve them. Children must be guaranteed their rights without discrimination as individual persons, regardless of who their parents are.

Mahan Eol, Attorney at the nonprofit organization Duru (International Human Rights and Child Rights fields)