"Be quiet": 10-year prison sentence finalized for man in his 30s who abused and killed his one-month-old baby

According to Financial News, a man in his 30s who beat and abused his newborn baby to death because the child was crying and fussy has been sentenced to 10 years in prison.
On the 3rd, the Second Division of the Supreme Court of Korea, presided over by Justice Eom Sang-pil, dismissed the appeal filed by A (31) in a case involving child abuse resulting in death under the Act on Special Cases Concerning the Punishment of Child Abuse Crimes and child abuse under the Child Welfare Act. The court thereby finalized the lower court’s ruling that sentenced him to 10 years in prison.
A, who has an intellectual disability, began abusing the baby on or around January 10, 2025, when the child was only eight to nine days old. He shouted at the baby to be quiet and shook the child’s body. Over the following weeks, he continued to abuse the baby. On the morning of the 30th, he again yelled "Be quiet" and assaulted the child because the baby was crying and fussy. As a result, the baby suffered traumatic brain hemorrhage and rib fractures, and was taken to a hospital that morning but died while receiving treatment.
In the first trial, the court sentenced A to 10 years in prison, ordered him to complete 40 hours of a child abuse treatment program, and imposed a 10-year employment restriction. The appellate court dismissed A’s appeal. However, both the first and second instance courts took into account his intellectual disability and poor emotional control in determining the sentence. The Supreme Court rejected A’s final appeal, thereby confirming the lower court’s decision.
The Supreme Court stated, "Considering the defendant’s age, character, environment, relationship with the victim, the motives, methods, and consequences of each offense in this case, and the circumstances after the crimes, even taking into account the matters asserted as grounds for appeal, it cannot be said that the lower court’s decision to uphold the first-instance sentence of 10 years in prison is grossly unjust."
hwlee@fnnews.com Reporter Lee Hwan-joo Reporter