7 out of 10 Suspects in Infant Homicide Cases Are in Their Teens and Twenties

Office of Rep. Jung Woo-taek, Analysis of Police Agency Data
77% of Infant Homicide Offenders from 2013 to 2021 Were Aged 10-20

Among the 10 suspects who committed crimes of killing infants, 7 were in their teens and twenties.

According to data received by Jeong Woo-taek, a member of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee from the National Police Agency on the 2nd, among 86 suspects of infant murder from 2013 to 2021, those in their twenties accounted for the largest number with 38 (44%), and those aged 20 or younger (14-20 years old) were 29 (34%), totaling 77%.

Additionally, suspects in their thirties numbered 16 (19%), and those aged 41-50 were 3 (3%). By gender, there were 78 females and 8 males.

During the same period, among 361 suspects of infant abandonment, those aged 20 or younger were 73 (20%), and those in their twenties were 140 (39%). Combining these two age groups accounts for 59%, a majority. Those in their thirties were 118 (33%), those in their forties were 16 (4%), and those aged 50 and above were 12 (3%). By gender, there were 291 females and 70 males.

The high proportion of suspects in their teens and twenties in infant murder and abandonment crimes appears to be due to the higher likelihood of unexpected childbirth in economically and socially unstable situations compared to other age groups.

Meanwhile, among 83 infant murder cases that occurred from 2013 to 2022, the regions with the highest numbers were Gyeonggi (19 cases) and Seoul (12 cases). During the same period, infant abandonment crimes totaled 286 cases, with Seoul (130 cases) and Gyeonggi (38 cases) having the most.

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