Pastor detained over death of boy who lived at Cheonan church
An 11-year-old in the care of the congregation leader died in Cheonan, South Chungcheong, with hospital staff suspecting abuse.
The Chungnam Provincial Police Agency headquarters stands in Yesan, South Chungcheong.
CHUNGNAM PROVINCIAL POLICE AGENCY
A pastor has been detained on suspicion of child abuse resulting in death after an 11-year-old boy who had been living at his church in Cheonan, South Chungcheong, died last week, the Chungnam Provincial Police Agency said Monday.
The pastor, who was responsible for the boy for several years, is accused of abusing or neglecting the child.
The pastor and other adults at the church called emergency services at about 8:49 p.m. last Wednesday to say the boy was ill. Paramedics took him to Chungnam National University Sejong Hospital, where he died about three hours after the call.
The victim had a high fever and showed signs of exhaustion. Hospital staff found marks on his body that suggested abuse and reported their suspicions to police.
Police say wounds visible to the naked eye were found on parts of his body, and they have obtained a witness statement that the victim had been tied to a bed inside the church.
A cause of death has not been established. Police sent the body to the National Forensic Service for an autopsy, and a preliminary verbal finding turned up no fractures or other notable results.
Four reports of suspected abuse involving the boy were filed between 2021 and this month, police found. Two of them came in early August, about a week before he died.
"In 2021, education authorities reported suspected neglect of the boy's schooling, and in 2024 there was a report that his maternal grandmother abused him, but both were closed," a police official told Yonhap News Agency.
"The two reports filed early this month both came from members of the public who spotted the boy outside and suspected he was being abused."
After those two reports, police discussed with Cheonan City Hall and other agencies whether to move the boy into a shelter. They booked people connected to the church and obtained a restraining order against his maternal grandmother to keep her away from him.
The boy was never moved to a shelter. He died less than a week later.
The Chungnam Provincial Police Agency, which took the case over from Cheonan Seobuk Police Station, is questioning the detained pastor, others at the church and the boy's guardians to establish what happened and whether there was further abuse.
BY HYEON YE-SEUL [cho.yongjun1@joongang.co.kr]
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
