▲ The biological mother says her final farewell to her 12-year-old son who died from abuse.
It has been belatedly revealed that the biological mother of Lee Si-woo (12 at the time of death), an elementary student who died in 2023 due to abuse by his stepmother while on long-term absence from school for homeschooling, lost her civil lawsuit against the Incheon Metropolitan City Office of Education in the second trial.
According to the legal community on Thursday, July 9, the Incheon District Court Civil Appeals Division 6-1 ruled against the plaintiff in February in the appeal filed by the biological mother of Lee, who passed away in February 2023, seeking damages of over 100 million won from the Incheon Metropolitan City Office of Education.
When filing the lawsuit in October 2023, Lee's biological mother argued, "When the stepmother applied for homeschooling, the school and the Office of Education accepted it without proper verification," adding, "Severe abuse was taking place during the homeschooling period, but the school neglected the management of children with unexcused absences, leading to my son's death."
However, the appellate court, like the first trial, determined that the Incheon Metropolitan City Office of Education holds no liability to compensate Lee's biological mother regarding the boy's death.
In a statement released on this day, Lee's biological mother said, "While I accept the results of the lawsuit, I feel deep regret and sorrow regarding our society's child protection system," adding, "I have doubts about whether sufficient verification and protective measures were taken for children who do not attend school for long periods."
She added, "It is too harsh a reality that a bereaved family, who already struggles with the lifelong pain of losing a son, must also bear the additional financial burden while trying to highlight the problems of the system," and continued, "I sincerely hope that this incident serves as an opportunity to improve the child safety verification system, such as procedures for child management, academic suspension, and out-of-quota management, to be more thorough."
Lee was subjected to habitual abuse by his stepmother, identified as A (46), for 11 months from March 9, 2022, to February 7, 2023, before he died.
Due to the persistent abuse, Lee's weight dropped from 38 kg at age 10 to 29.5 kg on the day of his death, and bruises and wounds were found all over his body at the time of his passing.
Lee had been a subject of intensive management by educational authorities after being absent from school for over two months starting November 24, 2022, but A refused the school's guidance, claiming she would provide homeschooling at home.
A was initially sentenced to 17 years in prison for child abuse resulting in death in both the first and second trials as the intent to murder was not recognized, but the Supreme Court overturned and remanded the case.
In the subsequent retrial, A was sentenced to 30 years in prison for child abuse murder, and the Supreme Court confirmed this sentence.
Lee's biological father, who neglected the abuse despite knowing about it, was previously sentenced to a confirmed 3-year prison term.
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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