The Missing First Child... The Second Child Was Also Entrusted to the Suspicious Maternal Grandmother

Seokmo Protects Daughter Kim's Second Child
'Missing Child' Kim's Sibling's Another Child
Events During Kim's Detention Investigation

Maternal grandmother of the deceased 3-year-old girl in Gumi. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] It is expected to cause a stir as it has been reported that another child of Kim (22), the eldest daughter of Seok (48), the biological mother of a 3-year-old girl found dead in a vacant house in Gumi, Gyeongbuk, was entrusted to Seok for a while. It is understood that this occurred while the police mistakenly identified Kim as the biological mother of the deceased girl and conducted a detention investigation.

According to a report by 'JTBC' on the 17th, Seok took care of the child while Kim was under investigation. This child is Kim's second child, born in August last year, and is the younger sibling of the so-called 'missing child' whose whereabouts are currently unknown.

Seok Mo (48), the biological mother of a 3-year-old girl found dead in Gumi, Gyeongbuk, reportedly took care of the second child of her biological daughter Kim Mo (22) for a period of time. / Photo by JTBC

Earlier, on the 10th of last month, after Seok made the initial report about the deceased girl, the police who responded identified Kim as the biological mother of the deceased girl and booked her on charges including child abuse resulting in death, detaining her for investigation. After DNA testing showed that Seok, not Kim, appeared to be the mother of the girl, the police detained Seok on the 11th.

During this period, Kim's second child had to be separated from her parents, and it is reported that Gumi City Hall temporarily entrusted the child to Seok.

Previously, the government implemented the 'Public Child Protection System' from September last year. The core of this system is that when a child in need of protection arises, the local government’s Child Welfare Deliberation Committee decides on protective measures such as foster care or facility admission, considering the best interests of the child. In other words, Gumi City is responsible for the protection of this child.

According to the public child protection system implemented since September last year, local governments must decide on protective measures for children in need of protection. / Photo by JTBC

However, Gumi City Hall explained to 'JTBC' the reason for entrusting Kim's second daughter to Seok, stating, "If the guardians request separation, we will implement (the child protection system), but since there was no such intention at all, the family took care of the child."

Meanwhile, Kim's missing first child is still unaccounted for. It was investigated that Kim gave birth to this child in 2018, around the same time Seok gave birth to the deceased girl.

There are suspicions among some that Seok secretly swapped the deceased girl with this child.

Meanwhile, on the 17th, Seok was sent to the prosecution with a recommendation for indictment on charges including attempted abduction of a minor and attempted corpse disposal. The attempted abduction charge pertains to Kim's missing child, and the attempted corpse disposal charge relates to the deceased girl.

However, even while entering the Daegu District Prosecutors' Office Kimcheon Branch from Gumi Police Station on the same day, Seok denied her childbirth when asked by reporters if the deceased child was indeed her daughter, responding, "No."

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