20s Couple Accused of Killing Two Children Under One Year Old Faces First Appeal Trial Today

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The first appeal trial for the couple in their 20s accused of causing the deaths of their two children will be held on the 21st. The key issue is expected to be whether there was intent to kill, which was not recognized in the original trial.

The Criminal Division 1 of the Chuncheon Branch of the Seoul High Court (Chief Judge Jae-woo Park) will hold the first appeal hearing for Hwang Mo (26) and Gwak Mo (24) on that day. Hwang is charged with causing the death of his second daughter, who was less than a year old, by leaving her covered with a thick blanket for a long time in a motel room in Wonju, Gangwon Province, in September 2016, and with strangling his 10-month-old son to death in June last year. Gwak is also on trial for failing to stop her husband’s actions despite knowing about them.

The first trial judged that there was reasonable doubt about whether the couple had intent to kill, and therefore acquitted them of the murder charges. However, the court found them guilty of concealing the bodies, child abuse, child neglect and abandonment, and fraudulent receipt of child-rearing allowances, sentencing Hwang to 1 year and 6 months in prison and Gwak to 1 year in prison with a 2-year probation.

The prosecution appealed, arguing that despite forensic expert opinions and other evidence supporting the charges, the court did not recognize the intent to kill. Hwang’s side also appealed the first trial’s decision, but Gwak did not. The prosecution is expected to focus on proving Hwang’s murder charges and Gwak’s charges of child abuse resulting in death in the appeal trial.

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