A single man in his 20s has been criticized for selling a female baby for 600,000 won ($590) which he fathered with his live-in girlfriend.

The Cheongju District Police Agency said Thursday that it has asked the court to issue an arrest warrant for the suspect on charges of illicitly handing over his daughter, aged 6 months, to a woman in her 30s through an unauthorized website.

The suspect, who was a college student in Seoul, has reportedly lived with his girlfriend of the same age in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, since early last year and had the baby with her in October 2013.

As his parents allegedly did not even known that he was living with a woman, he had trouble earning enough to feed the baby. Though the couple managed to feed the baby through nonregular jobs, the mother reportedly gave up and went back to her parents’ residence in February 2014.

The single father, then, reportedly decided to give up parental rights and posted an ad on a website to find someone to adopt his daughter in April.

The illicit adoption contract was made in late April between the single father and a woman in her 30s for only 600,000 won. But the transaction was detected by a child protection agency.

Apart from seeking an arrest warrant for him, police said it had booked the “buyer” without detention.

Many netizens denounced the suspect for acting irresponsibly as a father, arguing that he should be taken into custody for criminal punishment. Some of them said the baby’s mother should also be held accountable under the law.

A netizen said, “Whether the price is 600,000 won or 600 million won, is it rational for a father to sell his biological child?”

A netizen claimed the original problem lies in the fact that many young couples are negligent in using contraception. He added that a huge number of college couples live together without being legally married.

“Though he must be subject to stern punishment, he is better than those who left their babies on the streets,” said a netizen.

In addition, some said it was necessary to scrutinize the woman who tried to adopt the baby on an unauthorized website, voicing the possibility that she may be involved in baby trafficking.

According to police, the woman identified herself as a mother of five.

By Kim Yon-se (kys@heraldcorp.com)