“Mother in ‘Suwon Refrigerator Infant Murder’ Case Receives 8-Year Sentence from Supreme Court”
The Supreme Court confirmed an eight-year prison sentence for a woman in her 30s who killed two newborns after giving birth and stored their bodies in a fridge, a case known as the ‘Suwon Refrigerator Infant Corpse’ incident. 
According to legal sources on the 8th, the Supreme Court’s third division (Chief Justice Lee Heung-goo) confirmed the lower court’s ruling, which sentenced Ms. A, who was indicted on charges including murder, on the 8th of last month.
Ms. A was accused of killing her daughter and son, born in November 2018 and November 2019 respectively, near her home or a hospital alley after giving birth.
She stored the children’s bodies in black plastic bags and kept them in the refrigerator at her residence.
It was found that she committed the crime since she was already facing economic difficulties while raising three children with her husband and could not handle another birth.
Her crimes were uncovered last May when a Board of Audit and Inspection audit of the Ministry of Health and Welfare identified ‘shadow baby’ cases where there were birth records but no birth registration.
During the trial, Ms. A argued that she should be charged with the lesser offense of infanticide due to mental and physical disturbance at the time of the crime, but this claim was not accepted.
The first trial court applied charges of murder and corpse concealment and sentenced Ms. A to eight years in prison.
However, the court noted that there were circumstances in the motive for the crime that could be considered when determining the sentence.
Both the prosecution and Ms. A appealed, but the appellate court upheld the original judgment.
The Supreme Court also rejected Ms. A’s appeal, stating, “There was no misunderstanding of the legal principles regarding the establishment of murder and corpse concealment in the lower court’s judgment that influenced the ruling.”