Do you think the one you believe in would be okay with what happened?
A child with an intellectual disability,
who was allegedly beaten by the pastor,
his maternal grandmother, and perhaps the pastor’s adopted son, ultimately died at the age of 11.
The first report concerning this child was made on December 1, 2021, when he was 7 years old, for neglect.
And
the first report of physical abuse by the child’s maternal grandmother was made in 2024.
Therefore, I think it is reasonable to say that the child may have suffered abuse and physical violence for at least two years.
Before his death, he was reportedly restrained with a chain for about 38 hours,
and his body temperature rose above 41°C.
I honestly have no words.
I became extremely angry while reading the articles,
and even writing about this case on my own blog
is, in a sense, something I am doing for my own benefit.
I do not particularly want to write about this child’s case even now.
I kept wondering whether I was really doing anything different from exploiting the child’s tragedy, when I myself had done nothing to help.
But if, by chance, even one person reads my article,
becomes outraged,
and becomes another voice speaking out,
I thought that would give the article some meaning, so I decided to write it.
First of all, the location is
Yeolbang Mission Church
in Seonggeo-eup, Cheonan, Chungcheongnam-do.
The child had lived at this church since shortly after his birth in 2014,
and the church was effectively his living space until the time of his death.
In other words,
among the people who attended that church,
there must have been people who knew about the child’s abuse
but chose to remain silent.
He was not simply a child who went to the church and came home after being beaten.
He was a child who actually lived there.
The child was born in 2014.
He was born with an intellectual disability and,
reportedly,
had to stay at the church from shortly after birth for the following reasons.
His biological mother existed,
but she left the child with
the person involved in this case, B,
her own mother,
the child’s maternal grandmother.
The maternal grandmother then appears to have entrusted the child to the church.
It has been reported that the biological mother did not raise the child at all.
However,
from 2014 to 2021,
child-rearing allowances, child support, and other benefits related to the child
were reportedly found to have included 11.23 million won received by the biological mother.
Then,
in 2021,
the biological mother was reported for child neglect due to insufficient school attendance and other issues,
and after receiving criminal punishment for child abuse,
she reportedly completely lost contact with the child.
| Mother’s actions | Result |
|---|---|
| Neglected the child’s education and care to the point that he was held back due to insufficient school attendance | Determined to constitute child abuse (neglect) |
| Cheonan City conducted three investigations | Referred the case to a child protection agency for case management |
| Criminal proceedings followed | Biological mother received criminal punishment |
There is no information about the biological father.
For these reasons, the child who eventually died came to live at the church.
After coming to live at the church,
at least financially,
the child would not have been a burden on the church.
Because the total amount paid by the government before the child’s death
was found to be 37,366,710 won.
As mentioned above, even if approximately 10 million won was received by the biological mother,
the remaining approximately 20 million won appears, at least for now, to have been received by the maternal grandmother.
So what charges does the maternal grandmother face?
| Date | Maternal grandmother’s actions | Punishment / action taken |
|---|---|---|
| March 2024 | Physically assaulted the child | After an investigation by Cheonan City, determined to be child abuse → referred to a child protection agency → criminal punishment |
| August 2, 2026 | The child reported to police that he had been “hit by his maternal grandmother.” The grandmother reportedly stated that it was discipline. | Police confirmed the previous abuse history but at the time reportedly treated it as disciplinary corporal punishment, issued a warning, and sent them home |
| August 3, 2026 | The child escaped again and reported abuse | Police requested an emergency temporary no-contact order against the grandmother → the court rejected it, saying “the necessity was not recognized” |
| August 3–5, 2026 | The child was restrained with a chain for about 38 hours and left unattended together with the pastor | Arrested on charges of child abuse resulting in death |
| September 9, 2026 | The prosecution applied charges related to the 38-hour restraint and neglect and the child’s death | Indicted under detention on charges including child abuse resulting in death. The prosecution also added child abuse charges based on the August 2–3 assault reports. |
The first report of physical abuse was made in March 2024.
Then, two years later, another report was made.
This was possible because the child himself reported it.
In other words, we cannot assume that there was no physical abuse during those two years.
Who knows whether the child may have been beaten and reported it repeatedly?
The problem occurred on August 3.
The grandmother had a previous history of child abuse, the child himself escaped and reported being abused,
and the police requested an emergency temporary no-contact order against the grandmother from the court.
But the court rejected it, saying that the necessity was not recognized.
Did the child really have to be beaten badly enough to make the news before the necessity would be recognized?
And so,
the child, who had nowhere else to go,
was once again at the church,
where he was
restrained with a chain for 38 hours
by his maternal grandmother B
and Pastor A.
It appears that he was released
after a full day and a half had passed.
But
the child’s body temperature had already reached 41.5°C,
and he had lost consciousness.
A person at the church noticed his condition
and called 119.
He was immediately taken to the hospital by the emergency responders,
but the child died three hours later.
At this point, the hospital found restraint marks on his wrists and ankles, as well as bruises on his body,
and reported the possibility of abuse to the police.
And so
the full-scale investigation appears to have begun.
During the investigation, it was also discovered that Pastor A
had done more than merely participate in restraining the child with a chain.
| Date | Pastor’s actions | Punishment / action taken |
|---|---|---|
| Around July 26 and 29, 2026 | After the child went outside the church and disclosed the abuse, he was beaten dozens of times on his palms, soles, and other areas with a wooden stick | Child abuse charges |
| August 2, 2026 | After learning that the child had told police to “send me to a children’s home,” he allegedly applied mentholated lotion to the child’s eyes and mouth, put tissue paper in his mouth, and slapped his cheek | Child abuse charges |
| August 3–5, 2026 | The child was made to wear an adult diaper and restrained to a bed with a chain for about 38 hours, and was left unattended despite having a high fever and being exhausted | Charges of child abuse resulting in death |
| August 14, 2026 | After the police investigation, the pastor was transferred to the prosecution | Transferred while under detention |
| September 9, 2026 | The prosecution indicted him on charges including child abuse resulting in death | Indicted under detention |
| September 21, 2026 | At the first trial, he largely acknowledged the abusive acts. However, he argued that whether he could have foreseen the possibility of death should be determined after reviewing the autopsy results | Trial ongoing |
The pastor also had a previous history of physically abusing the child
and, on top of that,
after learning that the child had told police that he wanted to be sent to a children’s home,
he allegedly did something that, in my view, goes beyond what a human being should do to a child.
This raises the question of why the police told the pastor what the child had said.
According to the explanation,
the child had identified only his maternal grandmother as the person who had assaulted him at the time,
and had not identified the pastor.
As a result, the pastor was naturally excluded from those subject to separation measures.
What happened from the 3rd to the 5th
is difficult even to read about.
It makes me angry.
Even more disturbing is that
Pastor Kwak was also working as a disability activity support worker
and during the three days from the 3rd to the 5th,
when the child was tied up and abused,
he entered those hours into the disability activity support service records.
Pastor Kwak’s disability activity support service records
| Month | Recorded activity support service |
|---|---|
| June 2026 | 22 hours 30 minutes |
| July 2026 | 114 hours 30 minutes |
| August 2026 | 15 hours 30 minutes |
| Total | 152 hours 30 minutes |
Please look at the 15 hours 30 minutes recorded for August.
Some of the detailed hours recorded in August were
5 hours 30 minutes on August 4
5 hours on August 5.
The time period during which the child was restrained, according to the prosecution, was
Start: Around 9:34 PM on August 3, 2026
End: Around 11:38 AM on August 5, 2026
Total: Approximately 38 hours and 4 minutes
In other words, this occurred from August 3 through August 5.
Pastor Kwak
recorded 5 hours of service time on both the 4th and the 5th.
These were hours during which the child was tied up and subjected to acts that could reasonably be described as torture.
This was not free work.
The payment was 17,270 won per hour.
Nothing can bring the child back now,
but the church involved in this case
appears to have come under scrutiny as a result of the incident.
One issue discovered apart from the child’s death is that
the building was not registered as a religious assembly facility.
It was reportedly registered as a general restaurant.
It was not even officially a church in the first place,
so the child was not receiving any welfare benefits from the government simply because he was staying at the church.
Of course, there is no system in which the government provides child-rearing expenses simply because a church is caring for a child.
But if there had been responsible and properly functioning people at the facility,
they could have registered it as a child welfare facility,
designated the child for foster care,
or taken some other appropriate measure.
Of course, it would be difficult to expect such measures from someone who chained up a child who had escaped asking to be sent to a children’s home.
I
rather
think that, rather than focusing only on that already deeply rotten church,
Cheonan City should first be asked whether it even knew that this church, which was registered as a general restaurant, existed in the first place.
As for the current situation,
Currently, the pastor and the maternal grandmother have been indicted while in detention and are on trial,
while the adopted son remains under investigation as a suspect and has not yet been indicted.
Perhaps the court also recognized the seriousness of the situation,
and the defendants were indicted while in detention and are now standing trial.
It is truly a sad situation.
It is already in the past and there is no way to change it,
but I cannot help wondering
whether things might have turned out differently
if, instead of waiting for the current detention and indictment,
the court had granted the request on the 3rd
to prohibit the child’s maternal grandmother, B, from approaching him.