Even If He Had Been Arrested... Biological Father Who Abandoned and Caused Death of Two-Month-Old Daughter Has Been Missing for 8 Months

Court Failed to Predict Escape... Suspect in Negligent Homicide Case 'Missing During Trial'
Prosecutors "Nationwide Wanted Order, Travel Ban Issued"... Wife's Sentencing Also Postponed

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] A suspect who caused the death of his 2-month-old biological daughter and then abandoned the body has disappeared while on trial, and investigative agencies have been unable to locate him for over eight months. The court's decision to dismiss the arrest warrant, failing to anticipate his possibility of fleeing, appears to have contributed to this situation.

Kim Mo (43), who was indicted without detention in January last year, suddenly failed to appear at the first trial sentencing scheduled for November 22 of the same year. The court immediately sent a 'request for location detection' to the police to find Kim's whereabouts. However, Kim did not appear at the second and third sentencing dates held on December 6 of the same year and January 31 of this year. The court eventually postponed the sentencing indefinitely.

Initially, it was confirmed that the prosecution had requested arrest warrants for Kim and his wife Jo Mo (40) during the investigation before indictment. A prosecution official said, "Considering the seriousness of the case and various circumstances, we requested arrest warrants for them at that time." However, the warrants were dismissed by the court. Regarding the reason for dismissal at that time, a representative from the Seoul Southern District Court said, "The results of the arrest warrant review during the investigation phase are not separately stored, so it is impossible to confirm."

Accordingly, the prosecution is making every effort to secure Kim's custody. Since Kim disappeared, the sentencing for his wife Jo has not been carried out either. A prosecution official said, "We are tracking Kim in various ways, including issuing a nationwide warrant and imposing a travel ban."

The couple is accused of neglecting their daughter born in October 2010 during their common-law marriage, resulting in her death after two months. The couple did not even register the birth, so the child did not exist on official documents, and the authorities were not informed of the death. This case, which was almost buried, became known to the public seven years later in 2016 when Jo surrendered, saying, "I feel guilty and want to be punished."

In police investigations, Jo testified that after the child died, she wrapped the body in packaging material and placed it in a wooden box with soil. The box was sealed with silicone and stored inside the house for several years but was not found during the police search. It is reported that only Kim knows the whereabouts of the body.

Throughout the trial, Kim vehemently denied the charges. However, based on Jo's testimony, the statement of their 9-year-old daughter that "Dad did not let me see the box," and the fact that Kim searched the term 'corpse abandonment' on the internet, the prosecution requested a prison sentence of five years for Kim and three years in prison with a five-year probation for his wife Jo.

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