A photo of Jeong-in's grave [Lee Dong-won's SNS]
A photo of Jeong-in's grave [Lee Dong-won's SNS]

Lee Dong-won, the SBS producer who sparked a national outcry by revealing the face of child abuse victim Jeong-in on television, paid tribute to the girl on the sixth anniversary of her death.

Lee posted a photo of Jeong-in's grave on his social media account Tuesday, writing, "Today is the sixth anniversary of the child's passing."

Jeong-in died on Oct. 13, 2020, at 16 months old after suffering abuse at the hands of her adoptive parents, who lived in Yangcheon-gu, Seoul.

Lee said that whenever he sees young children holding their parents' hands on the way to school during his morning commute, he thinks of Jeong-in. "If she were still alive, she would have started elementary school this year," he wrote.

"I was worried I might not be able to visit on her anniversary, so I slipped away early one morning not long ago to go to the cemetery," he wrote. "The tree planted in her name had grown so much. I was glad to see it, but also deeply sad."

Lee wrote that he had once heard that a person truly disappears from the world not when their heart stops, but when they are forgotten by those who remembered them. "That child has no family to remember her," he said. "I am writing again this year in the hope that the fact she lived briefly in this world will be remembered for a long, long time. I would be grateful if you could take a moment to pray for her."

Lee has posted a tribute on Jeong-in's anniversary every year, asking the public to join in remembering her.

In January 2021, while producing SBS's "Geugeosi Algo Sipda," an investigative news program, Lee devoted extensive coverage to the abuse case through episodes including "Why Did Jeong-in Die? The Perpetrator and the Bystanders Over 271 Days."

The program revealed the child's face on air, drawing public attention to the case and fueling widespread anger toward the perpetrators. The production team said they decided to show her face because it was difficult to convey in words alone how her expression had changed over time as a result of the abuse.

The decision drew criticism, however, and a civic group filed a complaint against Lee, arguing that it violated the Child Abuse Punishment Act, which prohibits the publication of photographs of child abuse victims.

Prosecutors acknowledged the violation but suspended his indictment in consideration of various circumstances. Lee filed a constitutional complaint, and the Constitutional Court, while finding that revealing the child's face did constitute a violation of the law, canceled even the suspended indictment, taking into account the broadcast's purpose of preventing further child abuse and calling for a thorough investigation.

Meanwhile, Jang Ha-young, the adoptive mother who abused Jeong-in and caused her death, received a final sentence of 35 years in prison from the Supreme Court in April 2022. Her adoptive father, Ahn Seong-eun, who was tried on charges of failing to stop his wife's abuse, received a final sentence of five years.


paq@heraldcorp.com