Calls growing for better system to prevent child abuse

Photos of Jung-in, a 16-month-old girl who died after being abused by her adoptive parents, sit in front of her grave at a cemetery in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province, Jan. 13. Yonhap

By Bahk Eun-ji

The death of a 16-month-old girl following abuse by her adoptive parents has fueled a nationwide call to improve systems protecting children from abuse.

Experts point out that the country needs better coordination between police and public servants or private organization workers in charge of monitoring child abuse, to supplement the lack of authority of social workers and a lack of understanding of child abuse among police officers.

The girl, named Jung-in, died in October in a hospital emergency room in western Seoul after arriving there with bruises, fractures and severe organ damage.

The National Forensic Service concluded that the baby died of serious internal bleeding from her organs caused by external force, with severe injuries to her pancreas and a torn mesentery.

Her adoptive parents face a number of charges including child abuse, and during the first trial last week, prosecutors added a murder charge against her adoptive mother, instead of the charge of child abuse resulting in death.

The stepfather of Jung-in is surrounded by reporters as he leaves Seoul Southern District Court following a preliminary hearing on charges of child abuse, Jan. 13. Yonhap

There are many more child abuse cases like Jung-in's, even if the abuse does not result in death, and the number of cases is growing. According to the health ministry, there were 41,389 reports of suspected child abuse in 2019 and 30,045 of them were confirmed as abuse. That was more than double the number in 2015 when there were 11,715 confirmed cases out of 19,203 reports.

Forty-two children died of abuse in 2019, up sharply from 16 in 2015.

There have been efforts to improve laws and relevant systems to deal with child abuse, such as allocating 290 public servants to be exclusively in charge of child abuse cases dispatched to 118 local governments. But such measures are apparently insufficient as seen in Jung-in's case, with such workers lacking the authority to launch an investigation when accused parents deny the allegations.

Even if the parents and child are separated during an initial investigation, there are many cases in which the child returns to the parents without measures to prevent a recurrence of abuse.

Protesters hold signs demanding the death sentence for the adoptive mother of Jung-in outside Seoul Southern District Court, Jan. 13. Yonhap

"Even if social workers at child protection agencies or public servants of local governments receive a report of child abuse and visit their home, parents often refuse to be investigated. Some public servants even get injured from scuffles with parents while trying to investigate," an official from the health ministry said.

A civil servant in charge of child abuse at Ansan City Government said they don't have investigative authority like the police. "If parents refuse to be investigated by police, they will be punished for obstruction of public duty, but if they refuse an investigation by a public servant in charge of child abuse like me, they will only be fined," said the official, who asked to be identified only by his surname Koh.

Such civil servants mostly accompany police officers when an abuse report is received. But in many cases, police officers lack a thorough understanding of child abuse and unless a child sustains serious injuries, they just close the case after issuing a warning to the parents who claim they were disciplining the child.

In Jung-in's case as well, police received a barrage of criticism for failing to adequately respond despite three previous reports of abuse before she died, by a daycare center teacher, a passerby and a pediatrician. Police claimed they had believed the excuses her adoptive parents gave, such as claiming the girl's bruises resulted from a massage.

In response to the mounting calls for child abuse prevention, the government announced a set of measures on Tuesday. It said it would increase the number of public servants dedicated to child abuse cases, and expand the number of childcare facilities to accommodate children separated from abusive parents.

Police will also run a separate division to handle child abuse cases and will strengthen cooperation with related ministries and agencies.

People visit the grave of Jung-in in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province, to mourn her death, Jan. 12. Yonhap

But activists say, in Jung-in's case, laws and systems were in place, but relevant organizations and the officials involved failed to properly abide by the systems and fulfill their duties.

"Clearly, the laws and systems are insufficient. However, if society actively follows existing laws and systems, we could protect and save children like Jung-in," said Gong Hye-jung, president of the Korea Child Abuse Prevention Association.

"Every time similar cases have made headlines, lawmakers have been quick to promise an improvement of social systems for abused children, but actual changes have not been made in many cases when the public outrage ended."

She said people should monitor whether lawmakers keep making efforts to have their bills passed. "We couldn't prevent the toddler's tragic death, but we really need to work together to improve the system so that we can prevent potential or ongoing child abuse cases."

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