"What Crime Did the Children Commit?"... Calls for Harsher Punishment of 'Visok Salhae' That Takes Children's Lives

Recently, crimes involving parents killing their children, known as 'filicide,' have continued, becoming a social issue. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. Photo by Asia Economy DB.

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[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Recently, incidents of parents abusing or killing their children have been occurring one after another, becoming a social issue. For example, parents who despair over financial difficulties sometimes kill their children and then take extreme measures themselves.

The crime of parents killing their children, known as 'bisok (卑屬) murder,' repeats every year, sparking ongoing debates about the severity of punishment. While parricide, where a child kills a parent, is subject to aggravated punishment, bisok murder lacks a separate aggravating clause and is treated as ordinary murder. In other countries, bisok murder is punished equally to parricide.

On the 11th, a mother in her 30s was arrested for leaving her 6-year-old son with an intellectual disability unattended at home, resulting in his death.

The Women's and Juvenile Crime Investigation Unit of the Chungnam Police Agency announced that they had arrested A, a woman in her 30s and the biological mother, on charges of child abuse resulting in death for leaving her 6-year-old son unattended.

A is accused of failing to properly feed her son B and leaving the house for extended periods, neglecting proper childcare, which led to his death.

Earlier, on the 8th, police responded to a resident's report stating, "It seems a child died at home," and upon arriving at A's residence, found B deceased. At the time, B showed no significant external injuries but was found to be underweight and frail compared to peers.

During police questioning, A reportedly admitted to neglecting B.

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This is not the first case of a parent killing their child. On the 7th, a woman in her 40s, C, was arrested for killing her elementary school-aged children one after another.

C is accused of strangling her two sons, aged 10 and 9, at a multi-family house in Geumcheon-gu, Seoul, on the 5th. She surrendered to the police two days later, reportedly committing the crime due to financial hardship.

Under current law, parricide, where a child kills a parent, is punished more severely than ordinary murder. The penalty for murder ranges from the death penalty, life imprisonment, or imprisonment for five years or more, but parricide carries the death penalty, life imprisonment, or imprisonment for seven years or more. Parricide has been subject to aggravated punishment due to its cruelty and betrayal of filial duty.

On the other hand, bisok murder, where a parent kills their child or descendant, lacks a separate aggravating punishment clause and is treated as a general murder case. Although both killing a child and killing a parent are horrific crimes, only one side is subject to aggravated punishment.

Given this situation, there are calls to impose heavier penalties on bisok murder than on ordinary murder. In 2018, a petition titled "Please revise the law so that bisok murder can be punished more severely than ordinary murder, just like parricide" was posted on the Blue House's public petition board.

The petitioner pointed out, "I understand that parricide, where a child kills a parent, is punished more severely than ordinary murder. However, the opposite case, bisok murder where a parent kills a child, lacks separate punishment regulations and is treated as ordinary murder," adding, "Both are unacceptable crimes that take human lives."

They continued, "If the bond between parent and child is a sacred filial relationship, then the bond between child and parent is also sacred. Children cannot choose their parents," and requested, "Please revise the law so that bisok murder can also be punished more severely than ordinary murder."

In particular, acts where parents kill young children due to financial hardship and then commit suicide are also subject to criticism. Save the Children, an international child health and protection organization, defines this as a "horrific incident that severely violates children's human rights."

Some countries impose aggravated punishment not only for parricide but also for bisok murder. Many countries with parricide provisions, such as France, Italy, and Argentina, also have bisok murder regulations, treating crimes against blood relatives severely regardless of whether it is parricide or bisok murder.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Justice reportedly reported to the Presidential Transition Committee that it should consider imposing aggravated punishment when parents cause the death of their children.

In a briefing to the Transition Committee on the 29th of last month, the Ministry of Justice reported the need to amend the law to impose aggravated punishment on bisok murder, similar to parricide. Since a related amendment to the Criminal Act is pending in the National Assembly, the ministry stated it would actively express its opinions during future discussions.

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

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