Prosecutors Add Child Abuse Resulting in Death Charges Against Couple in Their 20s for Killing Two Children Under One Year Old

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] In the first appeal trial of a couple in their 20s accused of causing the deaths of their two children, both under one year old, the prosecution added the charge of child abuse resulting in death as a preliminary charge.

On the 21st, during the first appeal hearing of Hwang Mo (26) and Kwak Mo (24) at the Seoul High Court Chuncheon Division Criminal 1 (Presiding Judge Jae-woo Park), the prosecution stated, "We will request a change of indictment to add the charge of child abuse resulting in death against Hwang as a preliminary charge." A preliminary charge is an additional charge filed in case the main charge (primary charge) is not accepted. The prosecution initially indicted the couple on murder charges, but after the first trial resulted in a not guilty verdict on the murder charges, it appears they changed their strategy.

Regarding the murder charges, the court requested both the prosecution and defense to submit any material evidence that could verify the credibility of the defendants' statements, as there was no significant physical evidence beyond the defendants' testimonies from the police, prosecution, and court.

Hwang was indicted on charges of causing the death of their second daughter, who was less than one year old, by leaving her covered with a thick blanket for an extended period in a motel room in Wonju, Gangwon Province, in September 2016, and of strangling their 10-month-old son to death in June last year. Kwak was also brought to trial on charges of knowing about her husband's actions but failing to intervene.

Previously, the first trial court judged that there was reasonable doubt regarding the couple's intent to commit murder and therefore acquitted them of the murder charges. However, the court found them guilty of corpse concealment, child abuse, child neglect and abandonment, and fraudulent receipt of child-rearing allowances, sentencing Hwang to 1 year and 6 months in prison and Kwak to 1 year in prison with a 2-year probation.

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