Calls grow in South Korea to tighten oversight of child benefit payments
In South Korea, following several cases of children dying from neglect, civic activists are calling for oversight mechanisms for parents receiving state child benefits. At the same time, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said it does not plan to create additional barriers for benefit recipients, The Korea Herald reports.
The ministry explained that current legislation does not provide for imposing conditions on receiving child-rearing benefits. Instead, it is working on educational materials for parents and plans to provide information on childbirth and child care through the government Bokjiro portal starting in September. Citizens use this website to apply for social assistance and seek information about support programs.
Cases involving child deaths
In July, prosecutors in the city of Daejeon charged a couple in their 20s with child abuse resulting in death. According to investigators, their seven-month-old son was left unattended and died of severe malnutrition. At the time of his death, the child weighed 3 kilograms — less than half the average weight of a seven-month-old boy in South Korea.
According to the investigation, the parents received approximately 12 million won in state benefits related to the child, including in the month of his death. The investigation also found that the situation was not detected by the city’s emergency child protection system: authorities had received no reports of possible abuse or risks to the boy’s health.
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Another case occurred in March in Incheon, where the daughter of a 29-year-old woman died of malnutrition. An Incheon court sentenced her to 12 years in prison for child abuse resulting in death. The court noted that the woman’s intellectual disabilities limited her ability to care for the child, so she was found guilty not of murder through child abuse, but of aggravated child abuse.
Proposals for medical checkups
The local civic group Free Haedeuns proposed suspending payments to parents who do not ensure that children under 24 months undergo four medical checkups provided for at different stages of development. Currently, such examinations are recommended but not mandatory by law.
Kwon Chil-seung, a lawmaker from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, is promoting legislative changes that would make medical checkups for young children mandatory. According to him, as of August 3, 1,617 citizens had signed a petition requesting a review of the law.
