6-Day-Old Baby Bought for 980,000 Won... "Selling for 3,000,000 Won" After 2 Hours

Incheon District Prosecutors' Office Arrests Woman in 20s for Child Trafficking
Paid 980,000 KRW Hospital Bill for Biological Mother... Took Child
Resold to Adoption Applicant but Abandoned in Baby Box

A woman in her 20s who received a 6-day-old infant from the biological mother for 980,000 won and then transferred the infant to another person for 3 million won within two hours has been brought to trial.

According to the legal community on the 22nd, the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office recently arrested and indicted Ms. A, a woman in her 20s, on charges of child trafficking under the Child Welfare Act.

On August 24, 2019, at around 9:57 a.m., Ms. A visited the hospital where the unmarried mother, Ms. B’s biological mother, was admitted, paid the hospital bill of 983,180 won on her behalf, and received Ms. B.

Ms. A is accused of handing over Ms. B to Ms. C, a woman in her 50s, at a cafe in Incheon at 11:34 a.m., two hours later, in exchange for 3 million won.

Investigations revealed that Ms. A approached Ms. B’s biological mother after seeing an online post a month earlier in July, where the mother wrote, “I got pregnant with my boyfriend’s child, but I am not capable of raising the baby. Is there a good way?”

Ms. A lied to Ms. B’s biological mother, saying, “My husband has azoospermia and cannot have children, so if you give birth, I want to take the baby, register the birth, and raise the child.” She also promised to cover the hospital expenses.

Later, Ms. A pretended to be Ms. B’s biological mother and approached Ms. C, who wished to adopt, and reportedly received payment under the pretext of hospital and postpartum care costs.

However, when Ms. C had difficulty registering Ms. B as her own child, she eventually abandoned the baby in a baby box. Ms. B was adopted elsewhere and is currently reported to be safe.

Ms. A had previously been prosecuted for other child trafficking charges and was sentenced to 1 year and 2 months in prison with a 2-year probation by the Jeonju District Court in October last year.

At that time, Ms. A was accused of giving money to a mother in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, around September 2019, receiving a baby, and then transferring the baby to a third party for about 6.8 million won.

In court, Ms. A emphasized her mother’s health condition and sought leniency, but it was revealed that she lived alone in a villa and committed such child trafficking while her mother actually needed health assistance. Ms. A’s sentence was finalized in the appeal trial in February this year.

Regarding this case, the prosecution also indicted Ms. B’s biological mother and Ms. C, believing they were involved in child trafficking along with Ms. A.

Meanwhile, last month, the Ministry of Health and Welfare conducted a full survey of 2,121 individuals born between 2015 and 2022 who only had a 7-digit “temporary newborn number” assigned by medical institutions for vaccinations and other purposes without a resident registration number. The survey confirmed that 249 people (11.7%) had already passed away.

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