A mother who won a Hague Convention child return case repeatedly asked South Korean police to confirm the whereabouts and safety of her daughter in the country, but the 4-year-old girl was found dead alongside her father. The mother's side argued that police failed to prevent the tragedy by responding passively, including not informing her of an earlier suspected child abuse report.
According to Jeju Special Self-Governing Province's Fire and Safety Headquarters and the bereaved family on the 13th, a man in his 40s identified as A and his 4-year-old daughter were found dead the previous day at around 6:08 p.m. in a car parked in Pyoseon-myeon, Seogwipo. Charcoal briquettes were found inside the vehicle.
The bereaved family said A had been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder following an accident and had been prescribed multiple antidepressant medications. When custody became an issue in divorce proceedings filed by his wife, identified as B, in Australia, he is understood to have brought the daughter to Seoul around late October last year.
Allegations have been raised that B repeatedly sought police help to confirm her daughter's whereabouts and safety, but that no proper action was taken.
On March 30, B won a Hague Convention child return case at the Seoul Family Court and obtained authorization for enforcement. She then came to South Korea to retrieve her daughter, but A had already left Seoul and moved to Seogwipo on Jeju.
In early April, B filed a missing person report with the Seogwipo Police Station, asking for help enforcing the custody ruling. According to the bereaved family, police at the time did not determine A's location, conducted only a video call, and informed her to the effect that the daughter was fine.
B subsequently continued to ask police to confirm her daughter's exact whereabouts and check for signs of abuse, while repeatedly requesting that the girl be separated from her ex-husband. Police later that month summoned A and the daughter to a local police substation to verify their identities.
After returning to Australia for various reasons, B continued to ask relevant agencies through the embassy to confirm her daughter's whereabouts and safety.
During this process, B belatedly learned that the Seogwipo Police Station had conducted two on-site investigations with the Seogwipo city government in connection with a suspected child abuse report filed against A on March 22. The report is said to have included an account that the child was crying continuously.
B said police did not inform her of that report when she filed the missing person report. Her side also said no investigation report was prepared.
B then learned on the 2nd that A had contacted a day care center the daughter attended in Seogwipo, saying to the effect that she would no longer be attending because they were going to the United States.
B immediately requested emergency measures from a local court through the Australian Embassy. At a hearing the following day, the 3rd, she obtained a decision canceling her daughter's passport, blocking the departure.
B also asked the Jeju Police Agency to determine her daughter's whereabouts and take safety measures. She said her ex-husband had mental health problems but was not taking his medication properly and was showing unusual behavior, such as saying he would leave for the United States with the daughter, raising concerns about the child's safety. However, B said she received no response from police through that day.
"When I was questioned by police today, I asked why there had been no notification about the suspected child abuse report in March when I filed the missing person report, and I was told, 'We didn't check. We're sorry,'" B said. "I wasn't even told why no investigation report was prepared."
"What more could I have done?" she said. "I contacted the relevant agencies every day from another country and pleaded with the police, but this is what happened in the end."
A police official said of the matter that the force would "organize the details and comment later."