South Korean woman gets suspended sentence for rooftop newborn abandonment

A 30‑year‑old woman in Suwon, South Korea, gave birth in October 2024 and, fearing that the child's father would discover the birth, placed the newborn in a cardboard box on the building’s fourth‑floor rooftop for five days. The infant was found by a neighbor, suffering severe hypothermia but survived after medical treatment.

The Suwon District Court upheld the original verdict, sentencing the woman to three years’ imprisonment with a five‑year suspension, ordering 40 hours of child‑abuse prevention education and a five‑year ban on employment in child‑related fields. Prosecutors had appealed for a harsher penalty, but the appellate panel maintained the suspended sentence.

Legal experts and child‑welfare advocates called the case a sign of systemic gaps, urging stronger promotion of South Korea’s protective birth scheme and crisis‑pregnant‑woman support programs to prevent similar incidents.