Suspected child abusers to be promptly separated from victim

South Korea will instruct police and child welfare officials to prioritize emergency protection when a child is the subject of two or more abuse reports within a year, after an 11-year-old boy in Cheonan died despite repeatedly seeking help.

Under measures announced Wednesday, the government will revise its response guidelines this month to make temporary protection or emergency action the first consideration in cases involving repeated reports or a high risk of further abuse.

The measures are not mandatory separation orders. Officials will still assess each case individually, the government said.

Depending on the circumstances, children may be placed in temporary care, shelters or foster homes, separated from suspected abusers or provided with emergency medical treatment.

Police will also be required to quickly share detailed accounts of reported abuse with local governments, rather than providing only the outcome of their initial response, so child welfare officials can better determine whether separation is necessary.

The government plans to increase the number of officials dedicated to child abuse cases from 750 this year to 863 next year. Their monthly fieldwork allowance will double from 50,000 won ($37) to 100,000 won.

It will also establish 18 additional shelters specializing in children with disabilities and young children, while linking education and welfare databases so that abuse histories are checked before exemptions from compulsory schooling are approved.

The measures followed the Aug. 5 death of an 11-year-old boy with an intellectual disability at a church in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province.

Police believe the boy had been tied to a bed for about 38 hours before his death. He was found with a temperature of 41.5 degrees Celsius and reduced consciousness and died after being taken to a hospital.

A 62-year-old female pastor and the boy’s grandmother were arrested on suspicion of child abuse resulting in death.

On Aug. 2 and 3, the boy left the church and sought help from adults, telling police that his grandmother had hit him. Police and Cheonan officials considered placing him in protective care but ultimately returned him to the church.

Police sought an order barring the grandmother from approaching the boy, but a court rejected the request. The boy died two days after his second plea for help.

Possible abuse involving the boy had been reported four times since 2021, but he was never separated from the suspected abusers.