Mother in Her 30s Who Abandoned Newborn on Pyeongsang... Court Grants Suspended Sentence

The court has sentenced a woman in her 30s to a suspended prison term for abandoning her newborn son on a bench outside a supermarket.

Gwangju District Court. Photo by Song Bohyun

On the 17th, Judge Kim Yongshin, presiding judge of the 8th Criminal Division at the Gwangju District Court, announced that A (age 37), who was indicted on charges of violating the Child Welfare Act, was sentenced to six months in prison with a two-year suspension, and was ordered to complete 40 hours of child abuse prevention education. Judge Kim stated, "Although the nature of the crime is poor, consideration was given to the defendant's remorse and the absence of any prior similar offenses."

A was indicted on charges of leaving her newborn son on a bench outside a nearby supermarket after giving birth at a university hospital in Seoul in January 2011 and attempting to place the child in an orphanage, only to find the facility closed. At the time, A was reportedly raising two other children alone.