Mother sentenced to 8 years and 6 months in prison for abandoning 15-month-old daughter in kimchi container (South Korea)

A mother who abandoned her 15-month-old daughter to death, hid the body in a kimchi container and fraudulently received childcare benefits for three years has been sentenced to eight years and six months in prison.
On the 16th, the South Korean Supreme Court ruled that a defendant named Seo (36), who was indicted on charges of violating the Special Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes (resulting in child death),
The appeal hearing for the former husband, Choi (31), who was tried together with the former husband on charges of concealing the body, was sentenced to two years and four months in prison in the original trial.
The guilty verdict was finalized. Defendant Choi had been incarcerated in Seoul Southern Detention Center since around August 12, 2019 on a separate fraud charge, while defendant Seo had been arrested for assaulting his eldest son, who had left his daughter alone at home between August and December 2019.
He visited the detention center with his daughter, bringing her with him. About 3-4 days a week (a total of 70 times during the period in question), about 4-6 hours each time he went out, he left his daughter alone at home without providing her with adequate fluids or nutrients.
In particular, he did not take his daughter to the hospital despite her showing symptoms suspected to be respiratory illness for about a week, and on January 4, 2020, at around 7 p.m., he left his eldest son (5 years old) and daughter to meet his girlfriend.
He left the child at home and went out, returning home the next day, January 5th, at around 1:30 pm, leaving the child unattended for more than 18 hours, putting the child at risk of dehydration, hypoglycemia, and low blood pressure.
After returning home, the defendant Seo said that his daughter was unable to digest milk and vomited it up, and became depressed.
In the early hours of January 6, 2020, he gave his daughter milk again, but she vomited up the milk. Even though she could have choked on the vomit, the defendant continued to sleep, and the daughter
After his daughter's death, defendant Seo conspired with defendant Choi, who had been released from prison, to put the body in a kimchi container and take it to a nearby hospital in Seoul.
The body was moved to the defendant Seo's parents' house and abandoned on the roof, and the body was hidden until November 2022. Despite this, the defendant Seo paid 3.3 million won (about 360,000 yen) in child support in 29 installments, and
It was reported that Seo had illegally received 3 million won (approximately 330,000 yen) on 24 occasions and used it for living expenses. The first trial sentenced Seo to five years for child abuse resulting in death, two years for concealing the body, and two years for violating the Social Security Benefits Act.
The court sentenced her to seven years and six months in prison, including six months in prison for misdemeanor. She also ordered her to complete an 80-hour child abuse treatment program and to be restricted from working in child-related institutions for five years.
The court sentenced Seo to two years and four months in prison. The court said, "As the person closest to the victim and the person responsible for her upbringing and protection, you have not allowed her to undergo medical examinations or necessary vaccinations, and have ignored her despite the signs of health problems.
He continued to go out for long periods of time without changing his behavior, and the victim eventually died." He added, "The way he concealed the victim's body was also not criminal, and it does not appear he is sincerely remorseful."
The second trial increased the sentence for Seo to eight years and six months in prison, while the first trial's sentence for Choi was upheld at two years and four months in prison.
The second trial court said, "During the investigation, the defendant actively made false statements regarding the victim's survival, circumstances of her death, and the time of her death."
"Since the circumstances of the defendant after the crime were not good during the investigation and trial, including forcing witnesses to give statements in favor of the defendant, we decided to impose a heavier sentence than the first trial," the ruling said.
The Supreme Court also upheld the original ruling and dismissed the appeal.