Mother Who Gave Birth and Abandoned Baby During Trip with Boyfriend: "Because It's My Ex-Boyfriend's Child"

Prosecution Seeks 5-Year Sentence... "Attempted Murder Charge"

The prosecution has requested a prison sentence for a woman in her 20s who abandoned her three-day-old newborn by a lakeside in subzero weather.

On the 20th, at the sentencing hearing held by the 14th Criminal Division of the Incheon District Court (Presiding Judge Ryu Kyung-jin), the prosecution demanded a five-year prison term for A (23), who was indicted on charges of attempted murder.

On that day, the prosecution stated, "The defendant committed the crime against a child who was only three days old and whom she, as the biological mother, should have protected, making the case very serious. She showed no intention to raise the child and exhibited poor behavior before and after the crime."

A newborn baby discovered by the police on the afternoon of January 20th along the Songjih o Trail in Goseong-gun, Gangwon-do.
[Photo by Gangwon Fire Headquarters]

The prosecution further explained, "After abandoning the victim child, it is difficult to consider that the defendant remained in a mentally unstable state due to childbirth, so the charge of attempted murder should be applied."

In her final defense, A's lawyer appealed for leniency, saying, "The defendant gave birth without even knowing her due date and was in a financially difficult situation to raise the child. She also hid her pregnancy from her boyfriend, whom she was dating, and thought raising the child would be difficult."

In her final statement, A said, "I sincerely reflect on and regret my wrongful actions," and "I deeply regret my past behavior."

A is accused of abandoning her newborn on January 20th along the Songjiho Lake trail in Jukwang-myeon, Goseong-gun. A, who lived in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, went on a trip to Gangwon Province with her current boyfriend, gave birth to a son at a hospital, and then committed this crime.

At the time, the police responded to a report stating, "While walking the trail, the sound of a newborn crying was heard," and within nine minutes, they found the newborn with the umbilical cord still attached under a trail sign where snow had accumulated.

Subsequently, the police tracked the suspect who abandoned the child using nearby CCTV footage and arrested A the next day at a house in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province.

Regarding abandoning the baby, A told the police, "I had no intention of raising the child born from my previous boyfriend."

The police initially charged A with infant abandonment, but considering that the temperature in Goseong at the time the child was found was minus 0.5 degrees Celsius and the child could have been in a critical condition, the charge was changed to attempted infanticide.

The child is currently staying at a welfare facility, and the birth registration and family relationship registration have been completed under the authority of the local government head.