How Was the 'Sanmo Bakkwichigi' Possible... Searching for Accomplices on Portals

Crime Committed Through Naver Band
Risk of Similar Crimes Increasing

In Daegu, the group involved in the so-called 'mother swapping' case, in which four newborns were illegally adopted, was found to have sought accomplices on a portal site's 'Q&A board.' Since the portal site is accessible to anyone, it implies that similar crimes could occur at any time.

According to the Daegu Police Agency on the 10th, A (37), who was arrested on the 5th on charges of attempting to take newborns from a university hospital (child trafficking, etc.), sought accomplices on a portal site's Q&A board.

Photo by Yonhap [Image source=Yonhap News]

A is also suspected of illegally adopting a total of four children since October 2020, mainly by approaching parents who had difficulty raising children.

Posts that appear to indicate similar criminal circumstances to this case can be easily found on the portal site's Q&A board and elsewhere.

There was testimony from a single mothers' community cafe that they saw a response saying, "Do not register the birth; I will take the child and raise them."

In March, A pretended to be a mother and tried to discharge a baby boy born at a university hospital in Nam-gu, Daegu, on the 13th of the same month, but was caught by the police after a report from the newborn nursery staff.

A similar incident occurred in May last year. A woman who exchanged a biological mother and newborn through Naver Band was booked by the police on charges of 'illegal adoption.'

For adoption, newborn birth registration and consultation with local governments are essential to prevent illegal acts such as child trafficking.

However, as in this case, crimes are committed to send children for adoption without leaving records in the family register.

The government and the National Assembly are promoting the introduction of the 'birth notification system,' but the medical community opposes it. The birth notification system requires medical institutions to notify the state of a child's birth.

If a child without a birth registration is identified, the head of the local government can record it in the family relationship register ex officio.

The current system, which only provides benefits after childbirth, is also considered problematic. An expert pointed out, "The state should support not only after childbirth but also during pregnancy and delivery."

Meanwhile, mother B gave birth to C by cesarean section but disappeared after discharge, saying she would take C later due to postpartum care reasons. Later, A appeared to take the child, but staff immediately reported it after realizing that A was not mother B.

During the police investigation, it was confirmed that mother B used A's personal information to be admitted and treated at the hospital, and hospital bills were also paid by A. It was also investigated that A gave money to the mother under the pretext of postpartum care. A consistently denied the charges, saying, "I intended to raise the child myself."

However, police investigations revealed that over the past three years, A received children from a total of four people, including B, and falsely registered births as if they were biological children of others. The police booked three acquaintances involved in the crime and mothers on charges of child trafficking, and five parents who falsely registered births as biological children on charges of falsification of official documents without detention.

The police plan to investigate whether there are more victimized children and send A and others to the prosecution within next week.