Mother referred to prosecution for feeding rice cake soup to 2-month-old

A woman in her 30s has been referred to prosecutors on suspicion of child abuse after she posted a photo on social media of a bowl of rice cake soup prepared for her 2-month-old baby.

According to the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency on Friday, the investigators found the mother had indeed fed her child tteokguk and some strawberries, at her home in Incheon between January and February, which they believe constitute physical abuse given the child’s development stage.

According to the Korean Pediatric Society, infants of that age should be fed only breast milk or formula, and not solid foods.

The investigation began after the suspect shared a photo of a family meal, showing bowls of tteokguk garnished with egg and seaweed strips, along with side dishes. In between two larger bowls was a smaller bowl containing the same food with a baby spoon placed inside it. The post drew widespread concern online, prompting some users to report the case to police.

Commonly eaten at the start of the Lunar New Year, tteokguk is a Korean soup made with diagonally sliced rice cakes simmered in beef broth and typically garnished with egg, meat or seaweed.

Rice cakes are sticky and dense in texture and are considered a choking hazard even for adults, with a significant number of choking incidents reported annually, although detailed data specific to this food is not available. It was not immediately known whether the baby had been given only the soup or also the rice cake pieces themselves.

During questioning, the mother reportedly said she fed the foods “to make the child healthier,” denying any intent to harm. However, police said feeding solid foods to a child that young met the criteria for child abuse.