"Funeral Held for Dignity and Eternal Rest"
Selected as an Outstanding Human Rights Protection Case by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office
It was recently revealed that the prosecution held a tree burial for a two-year-old boy who suffered severe injuries including brain damage and ultimately died after being fed only barley tea and ion drinks due to neglect by his biological mother. The child was nearly cremated without a funeral as an unclaimed body after the mother refused to take custody of the remains.
According to the legal community on the 22nd, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office announced that it selected the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office, which prepared and conducted the funeral ceremony for boy A, as an "Outstanding Case of Human Rights Protection for the Fourth Quarter of 2024."
Boy A's biological mother, Ms. B, was an unmarried mother who gave birth alone without knowing the identity of the father. At the time, Ms. B was in her late 30s, but psychological tests revealed her social age was at the level of a 14-year-old.
When boy A was four months old and vomited formula milk, Ms. B fed him only ion drinks, barley tea, and puffed rice snacks thereafter. Eventually, boy A’s nutritional deficiencies worsened, leading to cardiac arrest in November 2022, which caused anoxic brain damage and left him unconscious. Boy A received hospital treatment for about two years with financial support from the prosecution but ultimately passed away in November last year.
Ms. B, who is currently serving a four-year prison sentence for child abuse causing serious injury, refused to take custody of boy A’s body. Consequently, the local government, acting as guardian, planned to cremate boy A as an unclaimed body without a funeral.
Upon learning this, the prosecution decided to support boy A’s funeral ceremony to ensure at least minimal dignity and peaceful rest. The Economic Support Review Committee approved funeral expenses of 1.63 million won, and on November 21 last year, just 13 days after boy A’s death, they sent him off with a tree burial. Fourteen people attended the funeral, including staff from the Daejeon District Prosecutors' Office and representatives from the local child protection agency. The Supreme Prosecutors' Office described this as "a case where continuous interest was maintained during a long treatment period and practical victim support efforts were made."
In addition, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office selected the Cheongju District Prosecutors' Office as an outstanding human rights protection case for providing multifaceted support, including financial aid and guardian appointment assistance, for the young children of a victim brutally murdered by a divorced spouse. The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office was also recognized for showing leniency to a homeless thief who had been legally declared dead for 12 years and helping cancel the missing person declaration. Furthermore, the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Anyang Branch investigation team was selected for supporting treatment and housing expenses for a teenage victim of familial sexual assault.
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