Parents who commit suicide after killing their children... "Children are not beings dependent on parents"

Three Cases of Street Murders Occur in One Month
Experts Say "Anxiety Grows as Daily Life Recovers After COVID-19"
"Tailored National Support and Social Safety Nets Needed," They Point Out

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Cases of filicide followed by parents ending their own lives are occurring repeatedly. Various causes such as economic difficulties and family discord are mentioned. However, it is pointed out that underlying these incidents is the perception of children as dependent beings.

According to Uijeongbu Police Station on the 25th, in the early morning of that day, three family members were found dead in an officetel in Uijeongbu City. At the scene, a couple in their 40s and a 6-year-old boy were found collapsed, and a suicide note stating "It is hard to live because of debt" was discovered.

The police responded to a report from an acquaintance who said, "They sent a scheduled text message predicting an extreme choice," and found the collapsed family at the scene. They were taken to the hospital but all died.

The day before, an incident occurred in an apartment in Sejong City where two sisters in their 30s and 40s living together and the younger sister’s two elementary school children were all found dead. According to the police, the children were found in cardiac arrest inside the apartment, and the sisters were found collapsed on the first floor of the apartment.

The police, based on the fact that two chairs were placed side by side under the apartment window and that each sister left a suicide note, believe that the children were killed before the sisters took their own lives. The notes contained expressions of despair about their own lives, and it was reported that the extreme choice was not due to economic hardship or financial problems.

At the end of June, the family of missing elementary school student Jo Amgu was found dead in a submerged vehicle off the coast of Wando, Jeollanam-do. The police investigating the case believe that Jo’s parents, suffering from financial difficulties and depression, took extreme measures. There have been as many as three cases in one month where parents killed their children and then took their own lives.

On the morning of the 29th of last month, police were recovering the vehicle of the family of Jo Yuna, submerged 10 meters underwater near the breakwater at Songgok Ferry Terminal in Sinji-myeon, Wando-gun, Jeollanam-do. / Yonhap News

The Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Child Rights Protection Agency has been compiling data on 'cases of suicide after killing children' since 2018. According to this, in 2018, 28 children died from abuse, and among them, 7 (5 cases) involved parents killing their children followed by extreme choices. This number increased to 9 (6 cases) out of 42 in 2019, and 12 (12 cases) out of 43 in 2020.

Earlier statistics include a 2014 paper by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division titled "Analysis of Filicide and Parental Homicide in Korea." According to the paper, from January 1, 2006, to March 31, 2013, a total of 7 years and 3 months, there were 230 cases of filicide, averaging about 30 to 39 cases per year. In 46% of these cases, parents took their own lives after killing their children. The paper pointed out, "About 46% of parents committed suicide after killing their children, a higher rate than general murder cases and family murders including parental homicide, indicating the need for a shift in parents’ perception that children are independent individuals, not possessions."

Seung Jae-hyun, a research fellow at the Korea Institute of Criminology and Justice Policy, told Asia Economy in a phone interview, "In Korea, there is a strong tendency to believe that parents are fully responsible for their children’s future and that children will be unhappy without them. While this can be seen as a sense of responsibility, it is a mistaken perception that views children as beings dependent on their parents." He analyzed, "This leads parents in difficult situations to extreme and pessimistic actions."

Regarding the recent surge in filicide cases, Research Fellow Seung said, "While the recovery of daily life after COVID-19 has positive aspects as society becomes active again, there is also anxiety about being pushed back into a competitive society. Interest rates are rising, prices are increasing, and real income is falling, while support is decreasing as daily life recovers."

He added, "Tailored state support and social safety nets are needed for households facing economic difficulties. If there is a belief that children can grow into healthy members of society even without their parents, such incidents would not occur. Careful state observation of these families is required amid the economic crisis," he advised.

※ If you have difficult feelings such as depression or know family or acquaintances experiencing such difficulties, you can receive 24-hour expert counseling at suicide prevention hotlines ☎1577-0199, Hope Phone ☎129, Lifeline ☎1588-9191, and Youth Phone ☎1388.

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