CU to Become Child Abuse Reporting Center at 14,000 Stores Nationwide

[Asia Economy Reporter Cha Min-young] More than 14,000 CU stores nationwide are evolving from finding missing children to becoming a ‘Child Safety Platform’ for preventing child abuse.

BGF Retail announced on the 23rd that it will add an emergency child abuse reporting function to the child disappearance prevention system ‘iCU’ and establish a comprehensive child safety network together with approximately 100,000 CU franchise owners and staff nationwide.

iCU is a missing person prevention system that BGF Retail first launched in the industry in 2017 in partnership with the National Police Agency, using nationwide stores to protect lost children, dementia patients, and people with intellectual, autism, or mental disabilities, and hand them over to the police or guardians. Based on cumulative data, about 70 lost children and others have safely returned to their families through the iCU system.

BGF Retail added a child abuse crime reporting function to the iCU system this month. Through this, CU employees can quickly report suspected child abuse situations witnessed inside or outside the store to the police via the POS system. Once a child abuse report is received, it is immediately forwarded in real-time to the local police station’s control room, and the police promptly dispatch officers to the scene.

In particular, BGF Retail, together with the National Police Agency, has prepared a child abuse checklist to help store employees make faster and more objective judgments about child abuse. The checklist includes five items: ▲ Suspected verbal, physical, or emotional threats from a guardian ▲ Suspicious bruises or wounds or suspected malnutrition ▲ Wearing clothes inappropriate for the season or unclean appearance, among others. If any of these apply, employees should report without hesitation.

BGF Retail added the emergency child abuse reporting function in response to the recent Changnyeong child abuse case, which highlighted the issue of children in safety blind spots as a social concern, aiming to actively prevent child-related crimes by utilizing the public-private cooperation system of iCU. According to the Child Safety Guarantee Agency’s investigation, child abuse crimes have increased by more than 50% annually since they were first recorded in 2001.

Min Seung-bae, Head of BGF Retail’s Business Support Office, said, “The most important thing to eradicate the 30,000 annual child abuse crimes is the affectionate interest and love of adults.” He added, “BGF Retail will further advance the iCU system so that our children can grow up brighter and healthier and continue to serve as a child safety platform in local communities.”

Meanwhile, BGF Group and BGF Welfare Foundation have signed business agreements with the National Police Agency and the Child Rights Guarantee Agency to expand the child safety network and protect and support children in crisis. Recently, they also fully supported the psychological treatment costs for child abuse victims in Changnyeong.