Chinese father arrested for abandoning 9-year-old son on Jeju Island

By Kim Hyun-bin

A Chinese national in his 30s, who abandoned his 9-year-old son on Jeju Island, has been charged with violating the Child Welfare Act, according to the Jeju District Prosecutors' Office, Friday.

The father is accused of leaving his son, who was sleeping, in a park in Seogwipo, southern Jeju Island, on Aug. 25. He also left an English message saying, “I hope that my child will live in a good facility in Korea.”

The son woke up and looked for his father, at which point a Seogwipo City official discovered him and alerted the police. After analyzing footage captured on CCTV cameras, the police arrested the father the following day.

According to the police, the two stayed in some local accommodation for three days after arriving in Jeju with a tourist visa on Aug. 14. After running out of money, the two had slept outdoors as of Aug. 17.

The father confessed to the crime, saying he could not provide proper care for his son without his wife and hoped that his son could grow up in a better environment in Korea.

Meanwhile, his son, who had been under the protection of a child welfare facility on Jeju Island, was sent to his relatives in China, Thursday.