"Prosecutor Made a Mistake"... Prosecutor's Failure to Appeal Likely to Reduce Sentence for Parents Whose 7-Month-Old Daughter Died

Second Trial Court: "No Prosecutor's Appeal, Wife's Sentence Limited to 7 Years Imprisonment"
Earlier, First Trial Husband Sentenced to 20 Years, Wife Long-Term 15 Years~Short-Term 7 Years
"Husband's Sentence Must Align with Wife's, Sentence Reduction Inevitable"

Parents A (22, left) and B (19), accused of leaving their 7-month-old daughter unattended in an apartment, causing her death, are being transferred from Michuhol Police Station in Hakik-dong, Michuhol-gu, Incheon, to the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office on the morning of June 14 last year. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon, Intern Reporter Lim Joo-hyung] The prosecution has requested a prison sentence again in the appellate trial for the couple accused of leaving their 7-month-old daughter alone, resulting in her death.

However, since the prosecution did not separately appeal against the wife during this process, it is expected that the sentences for both spouses will be significantly reduced. The court pointed out to the prosecutor, "You made a mistake."

On the 5th, during the first appellate trial of A (22) and his wife B (19) at the Seoul High Court Criminal Division 13 (Presiding Judge Gu Hoe-geun), the prosecution requested the same sentence as the original trial for charges including murder, corpse abandonment, and violation of the Child Welfare Act (child abandonment and neglect).

The first trial court sentenced the adult husband to 20 years in prison and the minor juvenile offender wife (19) to an indeterminate sentence ranging from 15 years to 7 years.

Considering the attitude during imprisonment, the juvenile offender is sentenced to an indeterminate sentence, serving a minimum of 7 years and a maximum of 15 years.

However, the couple's sentence in the appellate trial is expected to be reduced compared to the first trial.

Although the couple appealed, claiming "the sentence is too heavy," the prosecution did not appeal.

Under current law, if the prosecutor does not appeal, the second trial cannot impose a sentence heavier than that of the first trial.

The court explained, "B has now become an adult," and "legally, without the prosecutor's appeal, a sentence disadvantageous to the defendant cannot be imposed, so the short-term sentence of 7 years cannot be exceeded."

It added, "A also has no choice but to align his sentence with B's, so the 20-year sentence A received in the first trial is inevitably subject to significant adjustment," and pointed out, "This seems to be a mistake by the prosecution."

The couple A is accused of leaving their 7-month-old daughter C alone at their apartment in Bupyeong-gu, Incheon, from May 25 to 31 last year, resulting in her death.

After being arrested on charges of child abuse resulting in death and sent for prosecution, the prosecution changed the charges to murder and added two more charges: corpse abandonment and violation of the Child Welfare Act, and brought the case to trial.

The first trial court accepted the prosecution's request and sentenced A to 20 years in prison and B to an indeterminate sentence ranging from 15 years to 7 years in prison.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.