Broker Who Sold Newborn for 3 Million Won Received Instead of Hospital Bill... Sentence Increased in Second Trial

The Appellate Court Cites Original Sentence as Too Lenient as Reason

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A woman in her 20s who bought newborns from two unmarried mothers and then sold them to other women received a heavier prison sentence on appeal.

According to the legal community, the Criminal Appeals Division 3 of the Incheon District Court (Chief Judge Choi Seong-bae) on the 29th overturned the original sentence of 1 year and 2 months imprisonment for A (25, female), who was indicted on charges of child trafficking under the Child Welfare Act, and sentenced her to 1 year and 6 months imprisonment.

The appellate court also sentenced four people, including B (27, female), who sold her newborn daughter to A, and C (57, female), who gave money to A and received B’s daughter, to 6 months imprisonment with a 2-year probation, the same as the first trial.

A was arrested and prosecuted on charges of selling B’s 6-day-old daughter to C for money at a coffee shop in Incheon in August 2019. Investigations revealed that 1 hour and 30 minutes before the crime, A visited the hospital where B was admitted, paid 980,000 won for hospital bills on her behalf, and received the newborn.

Afterwards, A pretended to be the biological mother when meeting C, who wanted to adopt the child. She collected 3 million won under the pretext of hospital and postpartum care expenses. When C was unable to register the newborn as her own child due to B’s opposition, she eventually left the baby in a baby box at a facility, and the victim newborn was later adopted by another family.

Earlier, in July of the same year, A was investigated for buying a newborn for 1.36 million won using a similar method and then selling the baby to another woman for money. In 2022, she was also sentenced by the Jeonju District Court to 1 year and 2 months imprisonment with 2 years probation on charges of child trafficking.

The appellate court stated, “A secured the victim children by sending messages to those who posted adoption notices on internet bulletin boards after paying a fee,” and “She lied by pretending not to know and sold newborns for financial gain.” The court added, “The nature of the crime is very serious,” and explained that the sentence was increased because “the original sentence was too light and unfair.”