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| Police are looking for the mother of an infant found dead Tuesday near a 'baby box' in Gwanak District, Seoul. /Korea Times file |
By Kim Se-jeong
Police in Seoul said Wednesday that they were looking for the mother of an infant who was found dead Tuesday morning near a "baby box" facility in Gwanak District where people leave unwanted babies.
The baby box is run by a Christian pastor and his family.
According to police, the infant was found around 5:30 a.m. on a steel drum across from the baby box. The baby was wrapped in a pink towel, with its umbilical cord and placenta still attached.
A nearby surveillance camera caught the woman arriving at the site at 10:10 p.m. Monday and leaving the infant on the steel drum. The police said they are currently operating under the assumption the woman is the mother.
Officers believe the infant was alive initially but froze to death during the night.
"She may not have left the baby in the cold intentionally. It might have been a mistake. But still we need to find the woman, who could be the mother, captured in the CCTV footage and question her," said police, adding that they filed an autopsy request with the National Forensic Service to find the cause of death, the infant's age and health condition at the point of death.
The baby box staff were shocked by the discovery of the dead baby.
"We've received more than 1,800 infants and nothing like this has happened before. My heart is shattered. The baby could have survived if it was left in the box. We keep lights on at night so that people can recognize the box and installed a bell in the box so that the mothers can let us know. We shall see what we can do to prevent this from happening again," said Lee Jong-rak who runs the facility.
Under Korean law people who abandon their children can be punished.
After a short stay at the facility with the baby box, babies are usually sent to a foster care facility or an adoption agency. Lee and his family also take care of a few babies who are disabled or haven't yet been found a permanent place to stay.
The baby box is controversial for some Koreans ― while proponents claim it prevents women from abandoning their babies, opponents, including overseas adoptees, want the facilities to close.
Korea has two such facilities. The second is in Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province.
The baby box is a reflection of patriarchal society in Korea, as the social stigma suffered by single mothers is still quite strong, driving single pregnant women to seek abortions or to abandon babies after they are born.
