Child Abuse Murder Case... Punishment Standards Are Inconsistent

Intentionality Criteria Divide Murder and Manslaughter
Court Judges Based on Prosecutor's Charges

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] #Hwang Mo (26), who lives in Wonju-si, Gangwon Province, was prosecuted for leaving his 5-month-old daughter covered with a thick blanket and unattended for 3 hours, causing her death in September 2016. Hwang is also accused of killing his son, who was less than a year old, by pressing his neck for several tens of seconds when the baby would not stop crying in September 2018. The Chuncheon District Prosecutors' Office applied murder charges and arrested Hwang last month.

#Lee Mo (42), who lived in Gwanak-gu, Seoul, was indicted last December for confining his 5-year-old biological daughter in a travel bag for about 2 hours, causing her death. When the deceased child arrived at the hospital, her head and clothes were wet, and her entire body was covered with bruises. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office arrested and indicted Lee in January on charges including child abuse resulting in death.

There are two parents accused of killing their children. However, the charges brought against them differ: one is charged with murder, and the other with child abuse resulting in death. According to the Supreme Court sentencing guidelines, the basic sentence for murder is 10 to 16 years in prison. If aggravating factors are present, life imprisonment or even the death penalty is possible. On the other hand, child abuse resulting in death carries a sentence of 6 to 10 years, even if the abuse is severe. Both involve abuse leading to the death of a child, so why are such different standards applied?

The distinction between murder and death by abuse lies in whether there was an intention to kill. To apply murder charges, there must be recognition of intent to kill or at least conditional intent, meaning the perpetrator was aware that death could occur. However, determining intent to kill is a psychological factor and difficult to prove objectively, which has caused controversy in many violent crime cases.

A representative example is the 2018 "Hwagok-dong Foster Mother" case in Hwagok-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, where a foster mother starved and beat a 15-month-old child to death. At the time, the prosecution found it difficult to recognize intent to kill and charged the foster mother with child abuse resulting in death. Ultimately, the court recognized conditional intent to kill and sentenced her to 15 years in prison, judging that the prosecution's charge was incorrect.

Conversely, there are cases where the prosecution insisted on murder charges but the defendant was acquitted. In 2015, a woman in her 30s in Naju-si, Jeollanam-do, was acquitted in the first trial after being charged with killing her 10-month-old daughter by beating her. The woman was accused of beating her crying daughter for 10 minutes without sleep, causing death, but the court ruled that it was difficult to consider it intentional murder and acquitted her.

Attorney Junsung Jang of Law Firm How said, "From the prosecution's perspective, if it is difficult to prove intent to kill, they have no choice but to hesitate in applying charges." He suggested that in cases like the Gwanak incident, the prosecution likely judged that applying child abuse resulting in death charges was safer.