End infanticide
Stricter birth reporting system, stiffer penalties needed
For years now, Korea has lamented the fact that it has the lowest birthrate in the world.
However, a recent spate of heartbreaking stories in the news showed that the nation has not adequately cared for the children who have already been born.
Last Wednesday, a woman in her 30s admitted to killing two babies and keeping their bodies in a freezer in her apartment. Another woman in her 20s handed over her newborn to people she met online. An infant was also found dead due to malnutrition 76 days after being born.
These are the proverbial tip of the iceberg, however. These unfortunate four were just a part of 23 sample cases of unregistered babies. The Board of Audit and Inspection said it uncovered 2,236 cases over the last eight years in which hospital births were logged, but that the registration of the births had yet to be made.
The woman who strangled her two babies cited financial difficulties. Others said they could not raise their children for economic and other reasons. One shudders to think what the investigations concerning all of the other cases will uncover.
One can hardly believe these things occur in a country that boasts the world's 10th-largest economy and is critical of the current state of the birthrate.
The problem lies with the lax birth notification system and the weak punishment of baby killers. The time has long passed for Korea to shift to a new birth notification system, making it mandatory for maternity hospitals to inform localities of all births. Now, parents should register a child's birth within one month. Failure to do so is punished with a fine of just 50,000 won ($38). Little wonder there are so many cases of "ghost children."
A related bill has been gathering dust at the National Assembly for years after being somewhat deprioritized as well as opposition from the medical community, due to extra financial and administrative reasons. Shame on lawmakers and hospital managers. The U.S., Canada, Germany, France and the U.K. oblige hospitals to report all new births. Korea must hurry to catch up.
Many criminologists argue that killers of newborns should be subject to serious punishment by applying the charge of murder, not infanticide. A common-sense observation.
Under Korean law, infanticide is punishable with a maximum sentence of just 10 years in jail, far lighter than murder, which comes with a maximum sentence of life in prison.
In France, parents who unintentionally cause their children to die can be imprisoned for up to 30 years. Those who do so intentionally could face life in prison. In Sweden, abusers of children can get a maximum sentence of 10 years "regardless of the degree of damage." In the U.K., even neglect or mental abuse results in a similar punishment. Korea must toughen the punishment imposed on child killers and abusers.
Behind the leniency is the traditional Confucian thinking that treats children as possessions -- essentially, the possessions of the parents. That also explains why parenticide is a far graver crime than filicide here. The most extreme and glaring abuse of children is family suicide -- financially troubled parents slay their children before killing themselves. These grownups must understand that children are independent people from the moment they are born. They shouldn't have to die as they had no choice in choosing their parents.
Some also call for introducing a "protective (or anonymous) birth system" to prevent unmarried mothers from delivering babies outside of hospitals and killing or discarding them. That may save more young lives but cause other problems. For instance, it could encourage mothers to abandon their children while making it difficult to reconnect mothers and children afterward.
A far better way is to make a safer and more comfortable environment for childbirth by assuring young parents that they can raise children with state support. Before doing so, Koreans must lose their prejudices toward single mothers, children born out of wedlock or most other types of what they regard as "abnormal relationships."
Nor should this be related to Korea's efforts in becoming a G8 member or returning to being a small, powerless country due to its demographic crisis.
Anything can happen where people live, and society must try to solve what individuals cannot.
Source: Yonhap News Agency