By Kim Rahn
Child abuse will no longer be regarded as “discipline” but as a crime under a special law effective from today. Abusers will face harsher punishments, and their victims will get more protection.
The law was established after a series of cases in 2013 cases in which women beat their stepdaughters to death.
“In Korea, many people used to accept physical punishment of children as a means of discipline, so the neighbors of abused children and even teachers did not try to stop the abuse,” a Justice Ministry official said.
“Now the law shows that child abuse is a serious crime and that the state should intervene to stop it.”
Under the law, people who injure children seriously or people found who repeatedly abuse three times or more will be arrested and investigated.
Anyone who kills a child will face between five years and life in jail, with no suspended sentence. Under the previous law, the sentence was three years or more in jail, with the possibility of part or all of this sentencing being suspended.
A parent or parents who seriously or habitually abuse a child will have their children taken away for period of up to four months.
Police or child protection agency experts are entitled to take victims of abuse to hospitals or care centers.
In some previous cases where the abusers were parents, protection agencies had to let the abusers take their victims home because there was no legal ground to prevent this. The situation sometimes resulted in more abuse.
Adults involved with abused children, or who suspect abuse, must now report the abuse to police or relevant agencies. Caregivers, school teachers or hagwon lecturers who fail to report even “suspected” abuse will face fines of up 5 million won.
In April, a woman, surnamed Lim, was jailed for 10 years for beating her stepdaughter, 8, to death at their home in Chilgok, North Gyeongsang Province. Another woman in Ulsan, Park, was jailed for 15 years, also for beating her stepdaughter, 8, to death.