Couple investigated for abandoning baby just 6 hours after birth

A stock photo of a baby (123rf)

Police are investigating two international students for abandoning their newborn baby outside an orphanage, with the mother claiming that they are unable to raise the child as she did not get the approval of her parents in Vietnam.

Officials at the Daejeon Metropolitan Police Agency said they are investigating the two suspects, both Vietnamese nationals in their 20s, for violating the Child Welfare Act.

The mother gave birth to the baby boy at around 7:20 p.m. on Oct. 23 at her home in Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, and left the infant in front of an orphanage in the Seo-gu district six hours later.

The baby was found at around 7:50 a.m. on Oct. 24. He is currently in good health, and is under the protection of the city authorities.

Both suspects came to South Korea to study, but the female student's visa had expired by the time she got pregnant, according to reports. She told police that she got scared because she had a baby without her parent's consent, and thought they could not raise him.

The police are providing medical aid for the female suspect, and have asked the Ministry of Justice to issue a travel ban against the suspects during the investigation.

The Seo-gu district office is handling the administrative process for the baby and the mother, since the mother has no medical record related to the childbirth. Officials said they have asked the Vietnamese Embassy in South Korea to register the birth wth the Vietnamese authorities.

South Korea grants automatic citizenship to a baby born to a Korean parent, but does not grant automatic citizenship to a child born here to both foreign parents.