Foster Parents Who Hit Child by Hand and Stepped on Stomach... A Sad 'Adoption Day'

16th 'Adoption Day' Marked... Repeated Cases of Abuse Against Adopted Children
"Whined" Reason Used to Abuse Two-Year-Old Daughter by Stepfather
Cases Including 16-Month-Old Infant Jeong-in's Death Due to Abuse
Civic Groups Demand Proper Screening and Post-Management of Adoptive Parents

On January 11, two days before the first trial of the Jeong-in case, who died from abuse by adoptive parents after 16 months, a representative from the Child Abuse Prevention Association urged the application of murder charges in front of the Seoul Yangcheon District Prosecutors' Office. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] The 'Adoption Day,' established to promote and establish adoption culture, marked its 16th anniversary on the 11th. However, it is regrettable that incidents of adoptive parents abusing adopted children still occur across the country. There are calls for measures to prevent the recurrence of tragic abuse cases involving adopted children.

On the 9th, two days before Adoption Day, the Women and Juvenile Investigation Unit of the Southern Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency announced that they had urgently arrested and were investigating a man in his 30s, Mr. A, on charges of serious injury under the Special Act on the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes.

According to the police, Mr. A visited the emergency room of a hospital in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, around 6 p.m. on the previous day (the 8th) with his two-year-old adopted daughter, Ms. B.

The medical staff, upon discovering signs of abuse on Ms. B's body covered with wounds, reported suspected child abuse to the police at around 6:52 p.m. that day. At the time, Ms. B had bruises on various parts of her body, including her face and neck, and was reported to be showing symptoms of cerebral hemorrhage. Ms. B is currently being treated after being transferred to a large hospital in Incheon.

The police, who responded to the report, urgently arrested Mr. A at the hospital scene. Mr. A admitted to the police, saying, "My daughter kept whining, so I hit her a few times with my hand, and later she fell asleep, but when she did not wake up after several hours, I took her to the hospital," confessing to the assault.

A stepfather who assaulted a 2-year-old adopted child, leaving the child unconscious, was urgently arrested by the police. The incident occurred on the 9th, two days before "Adoption Day." / Photo by Yonhap News

According to the police investigation, Mr. A adopted Ms. B through an adoption agency in August of last year. This means Mr. A committed violence against his daughter about nine months after the adoption. Further investigation confirmed that on the 4th and 6th of this month, Mr. A repeatedly struck parts of Ms. B's body with his hand and a wooden shoehorn.

The police are investigating the specific details of Mr. A's abuse and whether he habitually abused Ms. B since adopting her last year.

This is not the first case where adoptive parents endangered the life of an adopted child through abuse. Last October, the case of 16-month-old infant Jeong-in, who died due to continuous abuse by her adoptive mother, sparked public outrage.

At the time of death, Jeong-in had severe injuries, including an abdomen filled with blood and damaged internal organs. The adoptive parents claimed the child's condition was due to an accident, saying she fell while playing on the sofa, but investigations revealed that they had habitually neglected, abandoned, and abused Jeong-in since adopting her.

In particular, the adoptive mother was found to have inflicted fatal injuries by forcefully stepping on Jeong-in's abdomen on the day of her death, demonstrating cruel violence.

The prosecution sought the death penalty for the adoptive mother accused of abusing Jeong-in and a prison sentence of seven years and six months for the adoptive father who was complicit in the abuse.

On the morning of March 3, when the third trial of the adoptive parents in the "Jeong-in case" was held, a condolence wreath in memory of Jeong-in was placed in front of the Southern District Court in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul. / Photo by Yonhap News

As cases of child abuse in adoptive families continue to occur, calls for preventive measures are growing louder. Civic groups especially emphasize the need to strengthen post-adoption management, including verification of adoptive parents and monitoring of adopted children.

Eleven civic organizations, including the Korea Single Mothers Support Network, held a press conference last December, stating, "The Jeong-in case could have been prevented if the core eligibility screening of adoptive parents and post-adoption management had been properly conducted during the adoption process." They urged, "The government should not leave the adoption process solely to the private sector but strengthen public intervention to directly supervise child protection, adoption matching, and post-adoption management, thereby preventing blind spots in child protection."

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