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The Supreme Court upheld a 35-year prison sentence for Jang-mo, who repeatedly beat and abused Jeong-in, who was less than two years old, to death.

Jang's husband was sentenced to five years in prison, but there were also voices calling for a more severe punishment.



Reporter Hong Young-jae will tell you.



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When the sentence for her adoptive parents who abused and killed her 16-month-old Jeong In-i, some audience members burst into tears.



The Supreme Court upheld a 35-year prison sentence for her adoptive mother, Jang, who repeatedly abused her Jeong-in.



Her adoptive father, Ahn Mo, who neglected her abuse, was sentenced to five years in prison.



The abuse began in March 2020, a month after adoption.



She was physically and emotionally abused, and in October 2020, when Jeong In-i died, she fell, saying that she was not eating, and then stepped on her stomach and beat her, causing serious organ damage.



In the first trial, Jang was sentenced to life in prison and his adoptive father was sentenced to five years in prison.



He admitted that he had assaulted her even though he knew there was a possibility of her death, but admitted that the murder was intentional, but the reason was that it could not be determined objectively enough to permanently isolate her from society.



The prosecution appealed that the sentence was low, but the Supreme Court dismissed the appeal saying that it is possible to lower the sentence, but it cannot increase the sentence.



The civic groups who watched Jung-in's case expressed their disappointment.



[Gong Hye-jeong/CEO of Child Abuse Prevention Association: These children who are dying of abuse can not stand by anyone.

So, I think the court should be on the side of the victim.

I'm very sorry.]



After the Jung-in incident, a system was implemented to immediately separate children suspected of being abused from their guardians.



Last year, 1,043 cases were immediately segregated, of which 94% were determined to be child abuse through further investigation.



(Video coverage: Seol Min-hwan, video editing: Jeong Seong-hoon, CG: Kang Kyung-rim)