Daycare Center Director Sentenced to 18 Years for Causing Death of 9-Month-Old Infant by Pressure

A daycare center director in her 60s was sentenced to 18 years in prison for suffocating a 9-month-old child by pressing her body against the child because the child did not take a nap.

Supreme Court, Seocho-dong, Seoul.

The Supreme Court's 3rd Division (Presiding Justice Oh Seok-jun) on the 8th upheld the original sentence of 18 years in prison in the final appeal trial against daycare center director A, who was charged with violating the Child Abuse Punishment Act and other offenses.

The court ruled, "We maintain the first trial's judgment that acquitted the defendant of the charge of child abuse homicide due to lack of proof of the crime, but recognized guilt for child abuse resulting in death." It added, "There is no error in the legal interpretation regarding 'physical abuse acts,' and sentencing the defendant to 18 years in prison is not excessively unjust."

A was prosecuted for suffocating infant B, 9 months old, at a daycare center in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, which she operated in November 2022. She laid the child face down, covered the entire body with a blanket, and pressed the child’s arms and upper body to prevent movement for 14 minutes, causing death by suffocation.

The first trial court sentenced her to 19 years in prison, applying the charge of child abuse resulting in death instead of child abuse homicide, stating, "There is no proof that there was even a conditional intent to kill." The court also ordered 120 hours of child abuse treatment programs and a 10-year ban on employment in child-related institutions.

The second trial court also applied the charge of child abuse resulting in death, but acquitted some charges of violating the Child Abuse Punishment Act and reduced the sentence by one year to 18 years in prison.

The Supreme Court found no issues with the second trial’s judgment.