Care Gap Due to COVID-19... Elementary School Brothers Attacked While Trying to Eat Ramen

Elementary School Brothers Who Were About to Eat Ramen Still Unconscious
In May, Controversy Over 'Changnyeong Child Abuse' Case
Jung Seyeon "Child Abuse Eradication Measures to Be Announced Soon"

A cup noodle container, presumed to have been pushed during water cleaning work, is submerged in a puddle at a villa in Michuhol-gu, Incheon, where a fire broke out while elementary school siblings were cooking ramen.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Recently, an elementary school brother and sister who suffered severe burns in a fire while trying to cook ramen alone at home during their mother's absence have still not regained consciousness four days after the accident, evoking deep sympathy.

In particular, their mother is known to have neglected proper care for the children due to her usual depression and anxiety symptoms, raising urgent calls for measures to protect children left in blind spots of care.

Additionally, to detect signs of abuse early, schools and specialized institutions need to maintain regular contact with children, but due to COVID-19 making face-to-face contact difficult, it has become harder to properly identify such cases. The government has stated it will soon finalize and announce measures to eradicate child abuse.

On the 14th, a serious accident occurred at a villa in Michuhol-gu, Incheon, where elementary school siblings (ages 8 and 10) caught fire while trying to cook ramen and fell into critical condition.

At the time of the accident, their mother, Ms. A (30), was away from home, and the siblings were reported to have stayed at home that day as schools were conducting remote classes due to the COVID-19 resurgence. Ultimately, the siblings suffered the accident while trying to prepare a meal by cooking ramen during their mother's absence. The 10-year-old brother sustained burns over 40% of his body, and the 8-year-old sister suffered 5% burns but is in critical condition due to injuries to internal organs.

It is especially heartbreaking that the siblings had reportedly been continuously abused by Ms. A. From September 16, 2018, until mid-this year, there were three reports filed with child protection agencies accusing her of neglecting her children, and she was also known to have used violence against her eldest son, who has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), because he did not obey her.

The stepfather involved in child abuse in Changnyeong is being transferred to the annex of Changnyeong Police Station, Gyeongnam, on June 13.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, on May 29, a domestic violence incident in Changnyeong-gun, Gyeongnam, sparked public outrage.

At that time, a 9-year-old girl, Ms. B, with bruises around both eyes, was found by a neighbor at a convenience store in Daehap-myeon, Changnyeong-gun, causing a scandal. When found, Ms. B had bruises on her body, and her fingers were burned, with some fingernails missing, indicating severe injuries.

Notably, Ms. B's family had been registered as a crisis household in the 'Happy e-um' system operated by the Ministry of Health and Welfare since last year. This system analyzes about 40 pieces of information, including school attendance, to identify suspected abuse households and notifies local governments as part of a child abuse prevention framework. However, due to the COVID-19 situation, Changnyeong-gun reportedly refrained from conducting on-site investigations following a request from the Ministry of Health and Welfare to avoid visits.

In summary, despite ongoing domestic violence, the impact of COVID-19 has made it difficult for external parties such as school staff and local governments to visit homes face-to-face, making abused children even more vulnerable to abuse.

The problem lies in the reluctance of abused children to report. Due to spending all day at home with their families amid COVID-19, opportunities to report have disappeared, and fear of retaliation has led them to give up on reporting altogether.

More than 80% of abused children return to the care of the abusive parent, increasing concerns about repeated abuse. According to the Central Child Protection Agency, there were 24,604 cases of child abuse in 2018. Among them, 20,164 cases (82.0%) continued under the care of the original family, and 1,020 cases (4.1%) returned to the original family after some intervention.

The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Given this, there are growing calls for urgent separation from abusive parents and protective measures by related agencies to eradicate child abuse.

On June 6, a post titled "Please strengthen child abuse laws for children who are victims of domestic violence" was uploaded on the Blue House National Petition Board.

The petitioner pointed out, "About 80% of child abuse perpetrators are parents, and about 10% of child abuse cases involve children who were abused again after returning home from parental abuse." They urged, "Please strengthen the verification process for the return of children who are victims of domestic abuse to their families and enhance supervision to ensure the process is properly carried out."

Meanwhile, the government recognizes the seriousness and risks of child abuse and plans to announce measures to eradicate child abuse soon.

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said at the Child Policy Coordination Committee held at the Government Seoul Office on the 17th, "Recently, child abuse cases that have sparked public outrage have occurred one after another," and "The government is preparing fundamental measures focusing on early detection of at-risk children and prevention of recurrence with the determination that this will be the last time, and will finalize and announce them soon."

He added, "We will support children who cannot be protected by their parents to grow up in environments as similar to a family as possible, and strengthen public responsibility in the adoption process."

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