Punishment for child abuse in South Korea: Cases of child-abuse deaths before and after new law

ABSTRACT This study aimed to identify the trend of judicial decisions on child abuse deaths in South Korea and provide practical implications to improve the current child welfare legislation (the Child Abuse Act or the CAA). The present study investigated factors related to sentencing decisions for child abuse deaths between 2000 and 2013 (45 cases before the CAA) and between 2014 and 2017 (20 cases after the CAA). This study used Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to examine whether there were differences in judicial decisions before and after the CAA. The results showed that the sentencing standard has become stricter following the enactment of the CAA; however, sentences have still been primarily guided by judicial discretion. The current study suggests that it is important to amend the current CAA to clarify sentencing standards for child abuse. This amendment can ensure that punishment is primarily determined by specific provisions of the law.