A man surnamed Kim holds the baby born to his daughter, who has an intellectual disability and was a victim of sexual assault.BYUN MIN-CHUL
Fifty-nine-year-old Kim is raising his infant grandson, born in April. The boy was born to his 29-year-old daughter with an intellectual disability, after she was raped multiple times last year by a man in his 60s at her workplace in Incheon.
"I get so angry I could scream, but then I think — what did this child ever do wrong?" he said.
Kim realized his daughter was pregnant only after noticing her stomach had grown, and he reported the case to police last spring. He waited for the results of the investigation while suspecting apartment neighbors or coworkers at her workplace, and in the meantime, his daughter — by then in the late stages of pregnancy — gave birth.
"She's always been thin and doesn't talk much, so I had no idea she was pregnant," Kim said. "She was classified as a high-risk mother and had to visit several OB-GYNs. Because of her disability, she also had serious difficulties during the delivery."
Around June, a DNA test confirmed that an executive at her workplace, which had a certified employment program for people with disabilities, was the child's biological father.
Prosecutors recently indicted him while in custody on charges of quasi-rape of a person with a disability under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Sexual Crimes. Quasi-rape is defined in Korean law as assault of someone unconscious or otherwise incapable of consenting or resisting. The workplace where he had served as an executive is now run by his son.
"I can't believe something like this happened at a standard workplace that's supposed to be friendly to people with disabilities," Kim said. "There's also evidence he tried to coax and threaten my daughter into keeping the assault quiet. The perpetrator and his family still haven't said a single word of apology, and they haven't contributed a single won toward child support."
Kim initially considered putting the baby up for adoption, but after much deliberation, decided to raise the child himself.
"I'm only human, so there are times I feel resentment when I look at the baby," he said. "But it broke my heart to think about what fault such a small child could possibly have. I decided that, for the child's future, it would be better to stay with family."
He recently quit the job he had held for more than a decade to care for his daughter and the baby. A child care helper comes to the house on weekdays, but caring for both his daughter and grandchild is inevitably a heavy burden for the aging Kim.
"My daughter is attached to the baby, but she isn't in a state where she can raise it, so I had no choice but to quit my job," he said. "My body isn't in good shape anymore, either. I want to look after the child until they become an adult, but I'm very worried about whether I can hold out that long."
A former executive at a small and medium-sized company enters the Incheon District Court on Aug. 12 for a pretrial detention hearing after prosecutors sought an arrest warrant for him on charges of sexually assaulting a person with an intellectual disability.YONHAP
Kim is currently getting by on unemployment benefits and savings. Welfare organizations have provided some child care items, such as a stroller and diapers, but far from enough. His daughter used to have her own income, but after seeing that she wasn't protected even at a certified workplace, Kim has decided he will never send her back to work. "I have no idea what to do going forward since I can't work," he said, his eyes reddening. "I want the child to grow up bright, without feeling overshadowed by any of this, but it breaks my heart that I don't have the means to make that happen."
Kim's family does not qualify for basic livelihood security benefits and owns some assets, which has excluded them from most other forms of welfare support. If the unemployment benefits Kim currently receives run out, he will have to leave his daughter and grandchild behind and return to work to make a living.
"The local government has looked into various ways to help, but there are limits because the family isn't eligible for basic livelihood security," an official at the Incheon sexual violence counseling center for persons with disabilities, which has been assisting Kim, said. "Since they've fallen into a blind spot in the support system, we're looking into other ways we might be able to help."
"It's possible to file for damages against the perpetrator and, if necessary, consider steps like seizing his assets," said attorney Cheon Jeong-a, who specializes in sexual violence cases. "But if there are no assets under his name, that approach may not be very effective."
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
