Gumi Girl's Biological Mother, Crying, Says "My Younger Second Child to My Daughter... I Will Take the Blame"

Biological mother Seok of the deceased 3-year-old girl from Gumi.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Joo-mi Lee] Regarding the death of a 3-year-old girl in Gumi, testimony has emerged suggesting that Seok Mo (48), identified as the child's biological mother, denied being the mother to protect her daughter Kim (22), who had been raising the deceased child.

On the March 3 broadcast of MBC's 'True Story Expedition,' Seok's husband revealed, "My wife cried and said, 'Since our daughter has a young second child, I will take the blame.'

He added, "We couldn't handle it ourselves," and said they reported it to the police.

Seok first discovered the deceased child in her daughter Kim's vacant house in February. At that time, Seok called Kim and said she would clean up the child. It is reported that Seok and her husband were together at the scene.

Former criminal psychology analyst Bae Sang-hoon commented, "There was enough time to handle it properly, but they openly exposed it," and analyzed that "(the husband's) possibility of being an accomplice is low."

Meanwhile, Seok claimed, "The police coaxed me to tell the truth for my daughter’s sake because my daughter (Kim) was self-harming in the detention center."

She was also reported to have said, "The police must be frustrated. Nothing is coming out, so they must be frustrated. Why wouldn't they be?"

The prosecution is reportedly separating the detained Seok and her daughter Kim in different detention centers to completely block any possibility of information sharing or collusion.

There was also testimony that Seok showed a lot of affection toward the deceased girl. An acquaintance said, "When the child was 100 days old, (Seok) proudly brought her to her own house, which was 40 minutes away."

The police, based on five DNA tests confirming Seok as the biological mother, believe that Seok swapped the deceased girl with the child born to her daughter Kim after giving birth. The prosecution plans to indict Seok on the 5th on charges of abducting a minor and attempted corpse disposal.