Police Change Father to Suspect in Hwaseong Infant Abandonment Case

Child Abuse, Neglect, and Abandonment Charges

Regarding the 'infant abandonment' case that occurred in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, the police have booked the biological father as a suspect and are investigating him as of the 24th.

On the same day, the Women and Youth Division of the Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency announced that they are investigating the biological father, Mr. A, on charges of child abuse and aiding abandonment.

Mr. A is suspected of aiding the abandonment by watching the child's biological mother, Ms. B, hand over the child to three adults at a cafe in Seoul last January.

In a prior police investigation, Ms. B stated that she gave birth to a baby girl at a hospital in Seoul on December 25, 2021, and after finding someone through the internet willing to take her daughter, she handed over the baby after eight days. The police believe Ms. B committed the act because she could not raise the baby alone due to financial reasons. It is reported that Mr. A and Ms. B are currently not living together.

The police are conducting forensic work on two mobile phones submitted by Ms. B to verify the credibility of her statement. One phone is currently in use, and the other is believed to be the phone used at the time of the incident. The police plan to analyze Mr. A's mobile phone soon as well.

A police official said, "Since it was confirmed that Mr. A was also present when Ms. B handed over the child, he has been charged with aiding abandonment and changed to suspect status."