Child Abuse Tragedies Persist Despite Strengthened Punishments; Management System Needs Urgent Overhaul

Despite a trend of strengthening penalties for child abuse, unfortunate incidents continue to occur, leading to growing calls for the establishment of a systematic recurrence prevention system. In the past five years, approximately 100 children have died from child abuse. Although several legislative amendments have been made to enhance criminal penalties, such as the introduction of the 'Jeong-in Law' in 2021, analyses suggest that strengthening punishment alone has its limits.

In particular, enhancing long-term follow-up care for child abuse victims is highlighted as an urgent task. Recently, a father accused of abusing and killing his 3-year-old child in Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, was sent to prosecution. Last month in Siheung, a mother was apprehended for murdering her daughter, who was three years old at the time, six years ago and abandoning the body in a mountain.

Internationally, follow-up observations are conducted for six months to over a year after a case is closed. However, in Korea, this period is limited to about three months. Accordingly, there is a demand to expand monitoring personnel and periods, and conduct detailed analysis of risk factors for re-abuse in each case. Improving the inter-agency cooperation system, including information sharing due to role division between local governments and child protection agencies, is also identified as a challenge.