In July 2023, the South Korean police discovered that a woman in her 30s cruelly strangled her two unregistered newborns and left them in her refrigerator. Unregistered or undocumented babies that are killed or abandoned are referred to as “ghost babies,” and many Koreans are in shock at the scale of the problem. The number of ghost babies has so far been reported to be approximately 6,000 from years 2015 to 2022. Some of these babies are murdered, usually by their parents, their bodies never discovered, while others are abused and neglected, a haunting reminder of the “Jung-In tragedy” of 2021. Many of those who survive do not receive government benefits due to their unregistered status. The surge in the reports of ghost babies exposes the lack of substantial support for and social stigma against single and unwed mothers in Korean society.

Crisis Pregnancies and Social Stigma

Why are some mothers not registering their newborns? Poor maternal healthcare and welfare for women with “crisis pregnancies” and the associated social stigma surrounding single or unwed mothers are major factors attributed to the rise in the number of ghost babies. A crisis pregnancy refers to unwanted or unexpected pregnancies. According to The Korea Herald, a study by Professor Kim Youn-shin (College of Medicine, Chosun University) revealed that single mothers had a higher tendency to conceal their pregnancy due to the social stigma surrounding being a single mother. Women in disadvantaged socioeconomic positions are discouraged from notifying the authorities about their pregnancy or even telling their friends or family, thus they do not receive the help that they need. As reported by The Joongang Daily, particularly vulnerable groups include victims of rape, teenage single mothers, illegal immigrants, and refugees.

Though single mothers killing or abandoning their babies in places like trash cans, fridges, or streets has long been a problem, it has been the lack of government intervention that has received recent attention. The use of baby boxes is a private project led by the Jusarang Community Church, which offers to take in unwanted babies that their biological mothers cannot raise. According to a survey by Jusarang, there were a total of 78 cases of births in dangerous places such as gosiwons, toilets, and motels in 2018; 1 out of 10 pregnant women out of wedlock who visit the baby box give birth in such dangerous places.

Although abortion was decriminalized in 2019, access remains difficult due to many vague legal qualifications. For instance, Korea’s Mother and Child Health Act of 1973 only allows abortion for instances of heritable disease, rape or incest, or serious health hazard, with no exceptions reserved for other complex situations. BBC Korea has reported that as a result, even though abortion is technically no longer illegal, realistic access to the procedure involves one hurdle after another, such as inaccessible clinics, social stigma, and the neglect of healthcare workers due to their own uncertainty regarding legality. In addition, abortion is only legal within 14 weeks of pregnancy, which some deem is not enough time. “For women in a social, financial, and psychological crisis, it may not be sufficient time to make a decision [on abortion,]” said Professor Seong Moonju (Namseoul University, Department of Social Welfare).

The progress that has been made in sex education and access to contraception in Korea has been impressive, but some argue that there is room for improvement. For instance, sex education still emphasizes abstinence and the normative belief that sex must only take place within marriage. These attitudes in Korean sex education may lead to single, unwed, or teenage pregnancies being viewed as sinful, irreversible roadblocks that will ruin their lives, causing the prospective mothers to become more terrified of the consequences. Thus, it is the compositef eedback loop among government laws, welfare policy, and social neglect that has allegedly exacerbated the current phenomenon.

The Nature of Filicides

While mothers suffering due to their socioeconomically disadvantaged state is understandable, it is also undeniable that abandoning or murdering newborns is a despicable criminal act. But surprisingly, neonaticide, or the killing of a newborn, is a fairly common phenomenon in Korea and many other cultures. Modern studies have also identified extreme mental illness as a common cause of infanticide.

But some experts argue that these mothers should not be considered psychopathic villains. “The story is more than just bad or mentally ill mothers who lethally assault their baby,” said Professor Martha Smithey (Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Social Work, Texas Tech University) in an interview with Texas Tech Today. “The story is about how hard it is to be a good mother in a society where women are expected to raise their children in their spare time and with their spare change.” Because women primarily bear the burden of childrearing, especially those with unwanted pregnancies, susceptible groups may become more vulnerable to mental illness. Dissociative disorders like pregnancy denial are common factors that may lead to neonaticide.

Therefore, it is important to recognize that neonaticide is a result of various factors. Writer Miranda Culp of Dame Magazine argued that neonaticide is not a result of “cultural failure,” such as the social stigma of sex or inadequate sex education, but rather, of the “deadly confluence of sexual trauma, social pressures, personality, and biological directives.” To reduce the number of these tragedies, Korean society must make intensive efforts to specifically identify and support all kinds of women with crisis pregnancies so that timely and accessible assistance is secured, and further, offer more compassion and understanding.

Several legal measures are in the pipeline as a response to the recent surge in the number of ghost babies. Examples include the National Assembly’s revision of the Act on Registration of Family Relations requiring workers at medical institutions to report newborns to the local administration within 14 days of birth. The Seoul Metropolitan Government also recently announced the implementation of an “integrated support system for pregnant women at risk,” a 24-hour counseling window, emergency counseling, and access to Unmarried Mother and Child Family Welfare Facilities or Seoul Single Parents Family Support Centers. While the situation appears grim now, it is hoped that Korean women experiencing crisis pregnancies can receive the help that they need in the foreseeable future.