"Terrible Abuse and Murder of 20-Month-Old Infant... Public Demand for Identity Disclosure"

A man accused of infant abuse and murder is seen going to the court during the pre-arrest suspect interrogation.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seoyoung Kwon] Voices demanding severe punishment for a man in his 20s who was arrested on charges of abusing and killing a 20-month-old infant are growing louder day by day.

Today (29th), the legal community announced that the Daejeon District Court Criminal Division 12 (Chief Judge Seokcheol Yoo) is hearing the case of Yang Mo (29), who is accused of child abuse murder and violation of the Special Act on the Punishment of Sexual Crimes, etc. (rape of a minor under 13), and Jeong Mo (25), who is charged with concealment of a corpse. Following the first trial held on the 27th, the prosecution's sentencing is scheduled for October.

According to the prosecution, Yang, who was released after serving time for fraud, started living together with Jeong and Jeong’s 20-month-old child. However, in the early morning of June 15, Yang assaulted the child for about an hour because the child would not sleep and kept crying. Yang covered the child with a blanket and repeatedly punched the child dozens of times and stomped on the child with his feet, ultimately causing the child’s death. Afterwards, Yang and Jeong hid the child’s body in an icebox inside the bathroom of their home.

It was also revealed that Yang committed sexual assault on the child before killing them. Furthermore, even after abusing the child and concealing the corpse, Yang showed no remorse, sending text messages to other family members searching for the child with content such as "I want to have sexual relations."

DNA testing showed that Yang was not the biological father of the deceased child, but Yang believed he was the child’s biological father during the crime and throughout the police investigation. On the other hand, Jeong was found to have been subjected to extreme fear and psychological domination due to assault and threats from Yang. Jeong was reportedly in another part of the house following Yang’s instructions even while Yang was committing the crime.

As these criminal facts about Yang came to light, netizens have continued to criticize and demand strong punishment for him. On the 27th, a petition titled "Please disclose the identity of the child abuse murderer who brutally abused, sexually assaulted, and killed a 20-month-old girl" was posted on the Blue House National Petition Board, gaining over 60,000 signatures within two days.

Meanwhile, it is reported that Yang admitted all charges during the first trial.

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