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Better measures needed to prevent infant deaths despite tougher penalties for abandonment, experts say

Published: 17 Dec. 2025, 14:02

Visitors walk through the exhibition hall at the 2025 COBE Baby Fair - Coex at Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi on Oct. 16. [NEWS1]

Fatal cases involving abandoned newborns continue to occur across Korea even after lawmakers strengthened penalties for killing infants, prompting renewed debate over whether criminal punishment alone can prevent such deaths and whether existing support systems for women who give birth under difficult circumstances remain adequate.

One such case happened on Sunday in central Seoul, where police arrested a Vietnamese national studying in Korea on suspicion of abandoning a newborn in a building shortly after giving birth on that day. Authorities said emergency services received a report at 6:25 p.m. that a newborn had been left inside a paper bag. Firefighters arrived six minutes later and transported the infant to a hospital, but the baby died.

Police said the woman placed the newborn in the bag immediately after delivery. Officers also detained another individual suspected of helping her during the incident. Investigators have requested arrest warrants for both suspects and are examining the motive.

A similar case occurred on Saturday in a motel in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi, where a newborn was found dead in a bathroom sink partially filled with water. Police booked the infant’s mother on charges of fatal child abuse.

“I gave birth alone in the motel room and was trying to wash the baby,” the mother told police.

Authorities said they ordered an autopsy to determine whether the death resulted from an intentional act.

If prosecutors find evidence of intentional killing, the mother could face the death penalty or life imprisonment under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment, etc. of Child Abuse Crimes. The sentencing range reflects legal changes made in August 2023, when lawmakers abolished the infanticide provision of the Criminal Act.

That provision had allowed reduced sentences when parents killed newborns under circumstances such as anticipated inability to raise the child or other mitigating factors.

Lawmakers repealed the provision after public outrage over the “Suwon refrigerator baby” case, in which a woman killed two babies she had given birth to and kept their bodies in a refrigerator, saying the clause failed to adequately protect the right to life.

School buses are parked at an English kindergarten in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on March 13. [YONHAP]

Despite the stronger penalties, experts say repeated incidents show that punishment alone cannot address the underlying causes of newborn deaths.

In response, the government launched a program to protect newborns from crisis pregnancies on July 19 last year. The system allows women who fear social stigma or legal repercussions to give birth in hospitals without revealing their identities, enabling medical care and postnatal support for both mothers and newborns. As of October this year, the program has assisted 451 births.

“The fact that newborn deaths continue to occur shows that blind spots still exist,” said Lee Yun-ho, a professor emeritus at Dongguk University’s College of Police and Criminal Justice. “This is a point at which a wider range of support measures is urgently needed.”

Some experts argue the government should formally introduce state-run baby boxes, designated locations where infants can be safely relinquished without criminal punishment. While private organizations currently operate baby boxes, critics say legal ambiguity limits their effectiveness.

Visitors look at child safety seats at COEX in Gangnam District, southern Seoul, on Nov. 6. [NEWS1]

“Private groups are filling the gap, but unresolved legal issues surrounding custody and parental rights prevent the system from functioning fully,” said Park Han-seul, a pharmacist and author. “The state or public sector should step in to take responsibility for children who would otherwise be abandoned.”

Even in the United States, which treats infant abandonment as a serious crime, the government has allowed parents to leave infants at designated locations without facing punishment under safe-haven laws since 2008.

Others stress the need to expand access to abortion services.

“In many cases, mothers who miss the opportunity for abortion give birth but feel unable to raise the child and end up taking the infant’s life themselves,” said Yoon Kim Ji-young, a professor of philosophy at Changwon National University. “Broader access to early abortion could help prevent such cases, while approval of abortion medication such as mifepristone for domestic sale could provide another option.”

Mifepristone, a pill used in early pregnancy to induce abortion, is approved for use in about 90 countries, including the United States, France and Japan. In Korea, abortion was decriminalized, but the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has not approved domestic sales of the drug, citing the need for further legal revisions.

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.
BY KIM JEONG-JAE,OH SAM-GWON [[email protected]]