Seoul Police and Youth Culture Development Committee Discuss Protection Measures for Abused Children

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] On the 1st, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and the Youth Culture Development Committee held a meeting to protect children who have suffered from child abuse and at-risk youth, discussing support measures for the designation of dedicated medical institutions for child abuse cases.

Through this meeting, once the dedicated medical institutions for child abuse cases promoted by the Seoul Police and Seoul City are designated, the Youth Culture Development Committee will provide support for medical supplies such as diapers, formula, and wet wipes, as well as caregiver fees of approximately 100,000 to 150,000 KRW per day during hospitalization.

Until now, when child abuse victims received treatment at hospitals, local governments have supported treatment costs under Article 22 of the Child Welfare Act. However, medical supplies such as diapers and formula, and caregiver fees necessary for the victimized children were excluded, creating a blind spot.

Jang Ha-yeon, Commissioner of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency, stated, "Protection and support for children who have suffered from child abuse is a societal task that must be shared by the entire society without distinction between the state and private sectors," adding, "I sincerely thank the Youth Culture Development Committee for their valuable support, which seems to have established a more thorough social protection system for child abuse victims."

Kim Sang-chul, Chairman of the Youth Culture Development Committee, said, "As an organization created to protect youth and children, we want to show that society is still warm through active support for children victimized by child abuse," and added, "We will continue to provide active support in the future."

Professor Kwak Young-ho of Seoul National University’s Department of Emergency Medicine also said, "When abused children are hospitalized, hospitals have had to bear the burden of providing supplies such as diapers entirely on their own, so I am relieved that this support will somewhat alleviate that burden," and added, "In the future, it is necessary for the state or local governments to allocate budget items to establish a more systematic support system."

Meanwhile, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and Seoul City, operating a TF team to improve the child abuse response system, plan to finalize and implement a comprehensive plan this month, focusing on the designation of dedicated medical institutions for child abuse and the establishment of a public review body for child abuse cases.

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