Father Acquitted After Leaving Newborn in Car Trunk Resulting in Death

[The Financial News] The father, who was tried for leaving his newborn in the trunk of a car leading to the baby's death and abandoning the body, has been acquitted.
On the 30th, the Supreme Court of Korea’s Third Division, presided over by Justice Lee Sook-yeon, upheld the lower court’s acquittal of Person A, who had been indicted on charges of murder and abandonment of a corpse.
Person A was brought to trial on charges of conspiring with Person B, with whom he was having an extramarital affair, to leave the newborn in the trunk of a car for about ten days in January 2024, resulting in the baby's death. He was also accused of abandoning the body in coastal bushes.
In the first trial, the court found that Person A had conspired with Person B and sentenced him to eight years in prison. Person A argued that he believed Person B’s claim that the baby had been put up for adoption and that Person B committed the crime without his knowledge, but this defense was not accepted.
The first-instance court stated, "The defendant was aware that Person B was leaving the baby in the trunk but took no protective action," and added, "The defendant’s omission should be regarded as equivalent to an act of murder."
The court further noted, "Even if the defendant did not explicitly conspire with Person B to commit murder, he must have recognized the possibility of the baby's death and accepted it. By failing to fulfill his duty of protection, he should be deemed to have tacitly and sequentially participated in the murder by omission."
The second trial overturned this decision. The appellate court ruled, "It is difficult to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant conspired with Person B to commit the crime," and found Person A not guilty.
The appellate court also found Person B’s testimony unreliable. Person B initially stated, "I told Person A the baby was put up for adoption and committed the crime alone," but later changed her statement to "I committed the crime in conspiracy with the defendant."
The appellate court pointed out, "Person B changed her testimony after the arrest warrant for the defendant was dismissed, and she was aware of this fact," adding, "It is highly likely that feelings of abandonment by the defendant motivated her to change her testimony."
The court also considered the possibility that the baby may have already died at the time of discharge from the hospital. This was based on several factors: the baby stopped crying after Person B covered its mouth with her hand and a towel multiple times in the hospital restroom; the baby did not cry when Person B left the restroom with the baby in a shopping bag; and Person B testified that the baby did not cry after getting into the car.
The Supreme Court of Korea found no error in the lower court’s judgment and dismissed the prosecutor’s appeal.
Meanwhile, Person B was sentenced to six years in prison by the Supreme Court of Korea in January.

jisseo@fnnews.com Seo Min-ji Reporter