[단독] 11살 학대 현장에 두고 안전 확인조차 안 한 경찰·지자체…‘앙꼬’ 빠진 정부 대책은 변죽만

A 11-year-old boy was found dead after being held captive for 30 hours in a church in Chungju, South Korea. Police and local government officials failed to check his safety even once during the two days he was held there. The boy had run away from the church two days before his death and requested help, but the police who were investigating the abuse returned him to the church.

The next day, when he ran away again and reported the abuse, the police and local officials once again took him back to the church. The police only placed a temporary restraining order on the boy's grandmother, who was suspected of abusing him, but did not verify his safety or his grandmother's departure from the church. The Chungju city government also only proposed to have the boy admitted to a hospital and placed in a facility for further review, but did not check on his safety after this.

The boy's body was found unconscious and unresponsive two days after the incident. After the boy's death, the city government announced a measure to immediately separate and check on the safety of any child that cannot be immediately separated from their abuser within 24 hours, or within 72 hours if separation is not possible. However, this measure does not address the lack of safety checks for children who cannot be immediately separated from their abusers.

The government's response to the incident was not based on new guidelines, but rather on existing rules.