Ministry of Health and Welfare and related ministries announce supplementary measures on child abuse prevention and response; focus on separating victims, strengthening information sharing

[Yonhap]
[Yonhap]

The government announced steps Wednesday to address gaps in the child protection system and strengthen on-the-ground response, following a recent suspected child abuse death in Cheonan.

Under the new measures, authorities will immediately separate abuse victims from alleged perpetrators when a second report is filed within a year, and the number of specialized shelters for victims will be expanded. Information sharing across agencies — including abuse histories and records of children exempted or deferred from compulsory schooling — will also be strengthened.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced the supplementary measures on child abuse prevention and response jointly with the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Interior and Safety and the Korean National Police Agency on Wednesday.

Because children who are not separated after a first report remain at continued risk of abuse, the new policy will require temporary protective custody or emergency measures when two or more abuse reports are filed within a year, addressing concerns about repeat abuse.

For child abuse cases that police have handled exclusively, detailed report information will now be shared promptly with local governments. When police and local officials respond to a scene together, they will jointly assess the appropriate response on the spot.

Local governments' accountability in handling child abuse will also be reinforced by adding indicators for repeat-abuse response to the criteria used in evaluating their performance.

To address the shortage of shelter capacity when children are separated from their homes, some spaces within existing abuse victim shelters will be renovated into specialized facilities for children with disabilities and infants and toddlers, with 18 such shelters to be established by 2027.

Compared with standard shelters, the specialized facilities will have a lower child-to-staff ratio and will be equipped with safety mats on floors and walls, infant care equipment and other relevant facilities.

Alongside this, school district offices will be required to verify the abuse history of children among those exempted or deferred from compulsory schooling who are considered at risk, doing so through local governments.

The social security information system and the education information system will be upgraded to share abuse histories and compulsory schooling exemption and deferral records across agencies. Abuse history will also be taken into account when reviewing applications for schooling exemptions or deferrals, deepening interagency cooperation.

Guidelines will be eased to allow joint visits by local governments, police and child protection agencies when a child abuse case management subject refuses case management. Local governments will also be required to notify guardians in advance of the possibility of changing the recipient and account for child allowance payments when abuse is determined.

In addition, a special committee to analyze suspected child abuse deaths will be formed before the end of this year, and parental education will be strengthened through links and QR codes provided when guardians apply for child allowances and other child-rearing support benefits.

Earlier this year, in April, the government announced measures to strengthen child abuse prevention and response. Of roughly 60,000 children under age 6 who had missed required health checkups or vaccinations, a first-round probe covering 30,855 children has been completed, with a second-round investigation into the remaining roughly 30,000 children set to be finished this month.

Of the 199 children referred to police for investigation following the first-round probe, the whereabouts of 195 have been confirmed. Among them, the guardians of two children have been booked on abuse charges, while the locations of four children are still being confirmed.

"These supplementary measures were drawn up by analyzing the causes of the recent tragic suspected child abuse deaths and the problems that emerged in on-the-ground response, focusing on the necessary system improvements," said Hyeon Su-yeop, first vice minister of Health and Welfare. "Going forward, we will strengthen the child abuse response system to build a tight-knit child protection safety net."


thlee@heraldcorp.com