Prison Sentences for Man and Woman in Their 40s at Busan District Court
In 2013, Baby Boy Handed Over to Unknown Couple
In 2018, Baby Girl Sold for 288,000 Won in Hospital Bill Payment
The court has sentenced a man and a woman in their 40s to prison for abandoning or selling their own children-whom they had over more than a decade-long extramarital relationship-sometimes under the condition that the buyer would pay the hospital bills.
On August 21, the Busan District Court Criminal Division 10 (Presiding Judge Heo Seongmin) announced that it had sentenced a man in his 40s, referred to as A, to one year and two months in prison for violating the Child Welfare Act (child abandonment, neglect, and child trafficking). A woman in her 40s, referred to as B, who was indicted on the same charges, was sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for three years. The court also ordered both individuals to be banned from working at child-related institutions for three years and to complete a total of 40 hours in a child abuse treatment program.
A and B, who had been in an extramarital relationship since 2008, were accused of abandoning a baby boy born in 2013 to an unidentified person and selling a baby girl born in 2018 under the condition that the hospital bills would be paid.
In March 2013, after B gave birth to a baby boy at an obstetrics clinic in Saha District, Busan, A-who was married at the time-contacted C, who had posted online expressing interest in adopting a baby. The following April, A and B handed over the baby to C and C's spouse, who visited the clinic. There was no verification of the adoptive family's identity or the child's living environment.
Five years later, the pair committed a similar crime. In January 2018, after B gave birth to a baby girl at a hospital in Dongnae District, Busan, A posted an online message seeking someone to take in and raise a newborn. They arranged for D, who responded to the post, to come to a hospital in Seo District, Busan, where they told D to "pay the hospital bill and take the child." After D paid 288,000 won, they handed over the baby. Effectively, they sold their daughter under the condition that the hospital bill would be paid.
The court stated, "They abandoned the victim children immediately after birth without following any legal procedures," and added, "Even after committing a similar crime once, they went on to sell another child after a subsequent birth, which makes their guilt especially grave."
The court further noted, "The baby girl was born somewhat prematurely and was not handed over to someone capable of proper care," and "Until the crime was discovered, her birth had not even been registered, and she was forced to grow up for a long period in an unhealthy and abnormal environment."
On the day of sentencing, A was also separately sentenced to one year in prison for unlicensed driving, embezzlement, fraud, and forgery of private documents.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
