Couple Neglects 7 Siblings in Hoarded Home After Giving Alcohol to 1-Year-Old and Causing Death of 8-Year-Old Son...

Son Dies Without Treatment for Kidney Disease
Childcare Support Money Squandered on Entertainment Expenses

A couple in their 30s who raised seven children in a house filled with garbage and mold, habitually abused their children, and neglected their 8-year-old son suffering from kidney disease for a long period, leading to his death, were sentenced to heavy prison terms in the first trial.

On the 22nd, the Criminal Division 2 of the Chuncheon District Court Gangneung Branch (Chief Judge Kwon Sang-pyo) sentenced A (36) and his wife B (34), who were indicted on charges including child abuse resulting in death under the Child Abuse Punishment Act, to 15 years in prison each, according to a report by Yonhap News Agency on the same day.

Additionally, the court sentenced E (33), a couple’s acquaintance who lived with them and was arrested and indicted on charges of habitual child abuse under the Child Welfare Act for assaulting or threatening the victim children, to 5 years in prison. Another acquaintance, F (35), who was indicted without detention on the same charges, was sentenced to 2 years in prison and was taken into custody in court.

The couple was charged with neglecting their son C (8), who was diagnosed with kidney disease in May 2022 and whose doctor recommended treatment at a higher-level hospital, leading to his death on April 4 of this year. The indictment also included charges of child abuse causing serious injury for neglecting their daughter D (4)’s eye disease.

The couple raised a total of seven children, including C and D, and from January last year to April this year, they neglected and abused their children. Investigations revealed that the couple raised their children in poor living conditions without heating and filled with garbage and mold. Despite not even having a washing machine at home, which meant the children could not wear freshly washed clothes, the couple enjoyed smoking and drinking at home.

They spent the child-rearing support funds received from local governments on entertainment expenses, and when the funds ran low, they opened mobile phone accounts in the children’s names and resold them to cover living expenses.

The court pointed out, "The victim children were mostly under 10 years old and required essential care from their guardians, yet the defendants actively abused the children by hitting and verbally abusing them, and failed to maintain sanitary living conditions."

It continued, "The defendants held drinking parties or went to karaoke after the victim children fell asleep, did not provide meals with proper nutrition, dressed the children in unwashed clothes, and failed to provide the minimum necessities of shelter, clothing, and food as guardians, severely hindering the children’s growth," criticizing, "The children suffered extreme hunger, wounds, and pain due to the defendants’ crimes."

The court also added that the couple "wasted most of the approximately 4.5 million won monthly child-rearing support funds received from local governments on entertainment expenses." Particularly criticizing A for leaving C, who needed intravenous fluids as prescribed by a doctor the day before his death, in the care of F, who was not a legal guardian, and going out to have fun, the court said, "Even immediately after the victim child’s death, they were more concerned with hiding the fact that they went out just before the death and covering up their wrongdoing than mourning."

The court explained the reasons for sentencing D and F to prison terms, stating, "D’s crime is serious as he gave alcohol to a victim child who was only one year old, and F also abused the victim children." The victim children, who are the children of A and B, are currently reported to be living in an orphanage.