Police Summon Parents for First Investigation in '16-Month-Old Infant Death Case'

National Forensic Service "Ms. A died due to external force" verbal opinion

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[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] The police investigating the death of a 16-month-old infant have summoned the child's parents to investigate allegations of abuse.

On the 21st, the Yangcheon Police Station in Seoul announced that they had called in the parents of girl A the previous day to investigate whether there had been any abuse such as assault prior to her death.

Girl A passed away on the 13th at a hospital in Mokdong, Yangcheon-gu. When she was brought to the hospital, she had severe injuries to her abdomen and brain, and hospital staff suspected child abuse and reported it to the police.

The National Forensic Service, which conducted the autopsy, reportedly gave a preliminary verbal opinion that girl A "died due to external force."

However, the police stated that the exact cause of death can only be determined after the official autopsy results are received.

A police official said, "The parents of girl A have not yet been registered as suspects," adding, "We plan to verify the connection to the death by reviewing investigations of related parties and the autopsy results."

Girl A was adopted by her current parents in January of this year. Since then, there have been three reports of child abuse, but each time, the police and child protection agencies failed to find evidence of abuse and returned girl A to her parents.

Following criticism that the police response was lax, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency stated, "We have formed an inspection team to verify whether the previous three reports were handled according to regulations, and the Yangcheon Police Station will also thoroughly reinvestigate the current death case and previous reports."