By Chung Ah-young
Recent horrendous child-abuse cases reveal how Korea has been, and continues to be, ill-prepared to protect children from domestic violence.
Most children who were abused at home were found after mistreatment left severe mental and physical injuries and sometimes brought fatal consequences.
The remains of a seven-year-old boy were found last week more than three years after he was presumed killed in 2012 by his father's violence at home in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province. The boy had been absent from school for four years.
In December, a girl, 11, escaped from her home in Incheon barefoot after being abused by her father for more than three years.
Whenever such serious child abuse cases surface, the government has vowed to mend the legal system to protect children better from mistreatment or negligence.
But the legal system has still failed to detect child abuse in its early stages and punish the perpetrators.
More reports, harsher punishment
Experts want the government to strengthen the laws to encourage more reports of such abuse and to give harsher punishment to offenders.
Although corporal punishment is banned under the Child Welfare Law, some parents still believe physical punishment is the way to discipline their children.
Experts say domestic violence on children is hard to detect unless neighbors or others report suspicious cases to authorities.
According to the Good Neighbors child protection center in Daejeon, 1.6 out of 100 children notify authorities of abuse or go to protection facilities. Most are older teens.
"Even if we receive reports of suspicious cases, it is hard to gather evidence of child abuse unless the victims offer testimony," said Kim Mi-ae, director of the center.
Experts said that under the present system, the early discovery of child abuse relies on school monitoring because, in many cases, a long-term absence is a sign of domestic problems.
But the recent cases reveal the flaws that fail to prevent such tragic incidents.
Under the related law, if a student is absent from school for more than seven days without clear reasons, the school is required to send a letter to the student's parents and tell the regional community office.
Then, the office is supposed to encourage parents to send the student to school. It needs to notify its suspicions to the local education office if the student continues to be absent.
However, students that are absent for more than 90 days are classified as a long-term absentee, which means they are no longer monitored by the school.
The Incheon girl and the Bucheon boy were victimized under such a flawed system because they were not monitored by their schools despite long truancies.
Also, there is no binding measure to force parents to send their children to school if they ignore the school's request. If parents refuse to send their children to school, the education office can fine them 1 million won. But the fine has never been imposed, according to the education authorities.
The Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations (KFTA) said the Bucheon incident reflects the collapse of humanity and ethics in Korean society. It has demanded harsher rules to force parents to take responsibility for their children.
"We don't have the authority to force parents to come to school for consultation about children," KFTA spokesman Kim Dong-seok said.
According to Korean Institute of Criminology (KIC) child abuse research, only 32.2 percent of offenders were indicted from 2004 to 2013, with most others getting the indictments suspended. The KIC said that means most victims have returned to their families, vulnerable to repeated violence.
Education Minister Lee Joon-sik said Thursday the ministry would seek to revise the law to enable teachers to report students to authorities if they are absent or missing for extended periods. Under the present law, only the parents can report that their child is missing.
In the United States, parents face fines or jail in many states over their children's unexcused school absences. If parents refuse the school's request to visit the school about their child's absence or other problems, they can face prosecution.
The United Kingdom has the so-called "Cinderella Law" to punish parents who emotionally abuse children.
Recent horrendous child-abuse cases reveal how Korea has been, and continues to be, ill-prepared to protect children from domestic violence.
Most children who were abused at home were found after mistreatment left severe mental and physical injuries and sometimes brought fatal consequences.
The remains of a seven-year-old boy were found last week more than three years after he was presumed killed in 2012 by his father's violence at home in Bucheon, Gyeonggi Province. The boy had been absent from school for four years.
In December, a girl, 11, escaped from her home in Incheon barefoot after being abused by her father for more than three years.
Whenever such serious child abuse cases surface, the government has vowed to mend the legal system to protect children better from mistreatment or negligence.
But the legal system has still failed to detect child abuse in its early stages and punish the perpetrators.
More reports, harsher punishment
Experts want the government to strengthen the laws to encourage more reports of such abuse and to give harsher punishment to offenders.
Although corporal punishment is banned under the Child Welfare Law, some parents still believe physical punishment is the way to discipline their children.
Experts say domestic violence on children is hard to detect unless neighbors or others report suspicious cases to authorities.
According to the Good Neighbors child protection center in Daejeon, 1.6 out of 100 children notify authorities of abuse or go to protection facilities. Most are older teens.
"Even if we receive reports of suspicious cases, it is hard to gather evidence of child abuse unless the victims offer testimony," said Kim Mi-ae, director of the center.
Experts said that under the present system, the early discovery of child abuse relies on school monitoring because, in many cases, a long-term absence is a sign of domestic problems.
But the recent cases reveal the flaws that fail to prevent such tragic incidents.
Under the related law, if a student is absent from school for more than seven days without clear reasons, the school is required to send a letter to the student's parents and tell the regional community office.
Then, the office is supposed to encourage parents to send the student to school. It needs to notify its suspicions to the local education office if the student continues to be absent.
However, students that are absent for more than 90 days are classified as a long-term absentee, which means they are no longer monitored by the school.
The Incheon girl and the Bucheon boy were victimized under such a flawed system because they were not monitored by their schools despite long truancies.
Also, there is no binding measure to force parents to send their children to school if they ignore the school's request. If parents refuse to send their children to school, the education office can fine them 1 million won. But the fine has never been imposed, according to the education authorities.
The Korean Federation of Teachers' Associations (KFTA) said the Bucheon incident reflects the collapse of humanity and ethics in Korean society. It has demanded harsher rules to force parents to take responsibility for their children.
"We don't have the authority to force parents to come to school for consultation about children," KFTA spokesman Kim Dong-seok said.
According to Korean Institute of Criminology (KIC) child abuse research, only 32.2 percent of offenders were indicted from 2004 to 2013, with most others getting the indictments suspended. The KIC said that means most victims have returned to their families, vulnerable to repeated violence.
Education Minister Lee Joon-sik said Thursday the ministry would seek to revise the law to enable teachers to report students to authorities if they are absent or missing for extended periods. Under the present law, only the parents can report that their child is missing.
In the United States, parents face fines or jail in many states over their children's unexcused school absences. If parents refuse the school's request to visit the school about their child's absence or other problems, they can face prosecution.
The United Kingdom has the so-called "Cinderella Law" to punish parents who emotionally abuse children.
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