Report cites increasing child abuse but lenient punishment By Kim Boram

SEOUL, Sept. 23 (Yonhap) -- Cases of child abuse increased by 43 percent during
the past four years, but more than 90 percent of the perpetrators went
unpunished, a report here said Tuesday.
Only five percent of reported child abusers were charged last year, according to
the report presented by the Health Ministry to ruling party lawmaker Sin
Sang-jin.
Roughly 80 percent -- or 7,080 out of 9,478 -- of the reported cases were
verified as having legitimate claims, but the vast majority of abusers were
simply put under surveillance, it said.
The number of verified cases rose from 4,880 in 2004, according to the report. In
every case, the home was put under state watch.
Cases of sexual abuse have also increased by about 50 percent, to 266 from 177
during the same period, the report said.
Leading civic groups such as Good Neighbors, which runs a child abuse research
center, say South Korea is lenient towards child abusers compared with Western
countries, mainly because of an unspoken social restriction on getting involved
in other families' affairs.
"Korean society is still reluctant to protect the human rights of children," said
Sin. "The Health Ministry should pay close attention to child abuse and look for
administrative and financial support."