A court hearing found that South Korean parents force-fed their two-year-old baby with extremely spicy "buldak" sauce and soju, resulting in the baby's death last year.
On Thursday, prosecutors made their accusations against the South Korean couple during the first hearing at the Daejeon District Court during the trial of the deceased child's parents. They are facing charges of child abuse resulting in death, repeated abuse, and negligence of their child.
Abuse of a Two-Year-Old Child
Both the father and the mother in the case were identified to be in their 30s, with the former already under custody. On the other hand, the mother has so far avoided physical detention. Prosecutors in the case argue that the couple stopped using a feeding tube for the deceased victim.
The child was reportedly born premature and required the use of the tool after being hospitalized for quite a long time. The South Korean couple allegedly force-fed their child with baby food, according to Global Nation.
It was also claimed that the victim was repeatedly kicked and beaten, which then resulted in the baby having multiple bruises as well as a skull fracture. Prosecutors noted that on Dec. 15, 2024, a day before the child was found dead, the South Korean couple supposedly fed their baby "buldak" sauce.
This is a type of sauce that is very popular for being extremely spicy, even for adults. The parents allegedly also force-fed the child soju, which is a strong Korean alcoholic beverage. They apparently did this as a remedy because their baby was feeling unwell.
Delaying Calling for Help
The day after being given "buldak," the parents found their child unresponsive, which urged them to call emergency services immediately. Medical staff that responded to the call arrived and confirmed the baby's death, noting severe malnutrition, as the victim only weighed 6.9 kg, the Mothership reported.
Additionally, prosecutors in the case claimed that the South Korean couple delayed reporting their child's death. They said that this was because the parents feared that their abusive actions on their baby would be exposed.
Prosecutors claimed that the couple only called for help for their two-year-old baby after they realized that they were not able to handle the situation themselves any longer.
On the other hand, the parents' three other children have since been placed under the care of their grandparents, and none of them showed similar signs of abuse as their deceased sibling, as per the New Straits Times.
