"Looking for Someone to Raise Our Baby"... Couple Who Gave Newborn to Stranger for Adoption

Couple Who Sent Away Child Without Birth Registration
Posted Online Seeking Someone to Raise the Child
"I Believe the Child Is Living Well"

A man in his 30s who gave birth to a child but neither registered the birth nor legally adopted the child to an unknown woman was sentenced to prison by the prosecution.

On the 23rd, at the Daejeon District Court Criminal Division 11 (Presiding Judge Jang Min-ju), during the sentencing hearing for charges of violating the Child Welfare Act (child abandonment and neglect), the prosecution requested a two-year prison sentence for the man in his 30s, Mr. A, and asked the court to restrict him from working in child-related institutions for five years.

Mr. A was prosecuted for giving up the child he gave birth to on February 9 last year at a maternity hospital in Jung-gu, Daejeon, without registering the birth and illegally placing the child for adoption. At that time, Mr. A and his spouse posted on an online community seeking someone to raise the child, and later handed the newborn to a woman whose name they did not know. The identity of the woman who took the child has not been identified, and the current whereabouts of the child are also unknown.

Mr. A’s lawyer, who admitted all the charges raised by the prosecution, said, "There is no excuse for the crime committed in this case," and added, "Although the crime committed is too shameful to seek leniency, please consider that the defendant admits all charges and deeply reflects on his actions."

In his final statement, Mr. A said, "I am truly ashamed and cannot raise my head now, standing in court due to past wrong choices," and added, "I am ashamed that I only thought the child was living well for a long time and did not try to find him. After this trial, I will make efforts to find the child and live with a repentant heart."