{"id":2201741,"date":"2023-07-19T17:30:21","date_gmt":"2023-07-19T08:30:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/?p=2201741"},"modified":"2023-07-20T19:22:06","modified_gmt":"2023-07-20T10:22:06","slug":"recent-infanticide-cases-expose-challenges-single-mothers-face-in-south-korea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2023\/07\/recent-infanticide-cases-expose-challenges-single-mothers-face-in-south-korea\/","title":{"rendered":"Recent infanticide cases expose challenges single mothers face in South Korea"},"content":{"rendered":"
In South Korea, a troubling trend of infant mortality, dubbed \u201cghost baby\u201d cases, has gripped the nation. Recent arrests highlight an unsettling issue that has prompted a nationwide investigation and sparked calls for stricter legislative measures.<\/span><\/p>\n In early July, law enforcement detained a woman in her 40s who allegedly buried her infant daughter alive in 2016. The child was scarcely a week old at the time. The mother <\/span>stated<\/span><\/a> the pregnancy had been unwanted.<\/span><\/p>\n A <\/span>separate incident<\/span><\/a> in June led to the arrest of another woman accused of strangling her newborn children \u2014 a girl and a boy born in 2018 and 2019, respectively \u2014 and storing their bodies in a freezer for years.<\/span><\/p>\n Since late June, the state audit agency has begun <\/span>probing<\/span><\/a> over 2,200 of these \u201cghost baby\u201d cases recorded since 2015. These cases center on hospital-logged births, yet corresponding birth registrations were not filed by the parents with local authorities.<\/span><\/p>\n Under the current legal framework, only parents can register births. Failure to do so incurs a fine. However, the penalty is nominal at approximately $38 (<\/span>50,000 won<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n The sheer brutality of these incidents has sparked a nationwide outcry, leading to a <\/span>demand<\/span><\/a> for amendments to the current birth registration system and harsher penalties for infanticide.<\/span><\/p>\n In response, the National Assembly passed a <\/span>bill<\/span><\/a> requiring maternity hospitals to inform local governments of all births within two weeks, even if the parents fail to do so. This revised birth registration system will come into effect one year after promulgation. Moreover, on July 13, a bill <\/span>proposing higher penalties<\/span><\/a> for infant abandonment garnered bipartisan support during a preliminary review by the National Assembly\u2019s legislation committee in mid-July.<\/span><\/p>\n However, some experts worry that these proposed measures focus excessively on punitive actions while neglecting the underlying causes. Recent <\/span>data<\/span><\/a> indicates that nearly 80% of the perpetrators in infant homicide cases are women in their teens and twenties grappling with unwanted pregnancies. Many <\/span>cite<\/span><\/a> economic hardship, societal stigma against single mothers and the fear of familial discovery as reasons for their decisions.<\/span><\/p>\n