[Child Abuse, No Solution?] The Cycle of Repeated Abuse Must Be Broken with Strong Punishment

<Part 2> When Will the Lenient Punishments End?

Every Year, 30 Children Die
41.7% Receive 'Suspended Sentences'

"Child Abuse Disguised as Discipline
Parental Rights Must Be Strictly Restricted"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] The number of children who die from child abuse each year is around 30 in South Korea alone. However, punishments for abusers remain lenient, sparking public outcry for tougher penalties against child abuse.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, 28 children died from child abuse in 2018. The numbers had been rising annually from 14 in 2014, 16 in 2015, 36 in 2016, and 38 in 2017, before slightly decreasing in 2018, but the situation remains serious. Most of the abused children suffered severe physical abuse leading to death or became victims before their parents made extreme choices.

However, a significant number of abusers receive sentences of five years or less. Among 139 defendants tried in the first trial in 2018 under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes (Child Abuse Punishment Act), only 16 (11.5%) were sentenced to imprisonment. Suspended sentences accounted for 41.7% of the total. Especially when parental discipline involved minor assault or injury, cases were often not prosecuted or resulted in suspended sentences. In 2018, a court acquitted parents who were tried for slapping their middle school son once while scolding him for playing computer games. The court stated that the act was within the scope of disciplinary authority exercised to discipline the son.

Experts emphasize the need to strengthen punishments for abusers. Professor Park Eun-ha of the Department of Social Welfare at Yongin University said, "Whether parents or teachers, institutional reforms are needed to strictly limit parental rights for abusers," adding, "The current Domestic Violence Prevention Act has low penalties and is actually less stringent than criminal law."

Calls for practical preventive measures, not just punishment, are also growing louder. The Korean Women Lawyers Association stated in a press release on the 10th, "Child abuse disguised as so-called 'discipline' occurs and is easily concealed within the strong confines of the family, causing more children to suffer," urging, "Effective measures must be taken to prevent further deaths caused by child abuse."

In response to such public opinion, the government is also belatedly considering countermeasures. The Ministry of Justice is pushing for amendments to the Civil Act to prohibit corporal punishment within the family, while the Ministry of Education will discuss child abuse prevention measures as the first agenda item at the 7th Social Relations Ministers' Meeting on the 12th. The meeting will cover topics including ▲ the formation of joint inspection teams comprising police, local governments, and child protection agencies ▲ the introduction of an 'immediate separation system' to remove children from their homes as soon as abuse is detected ▲ and the identification and investigation of high-risk children.

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