Arrest warrant sought for mother on charges of burying newborn alive in S. Korea

The Jeonnam Provincial Police Agency applied for the warrant against the woman in her 30s on charges of murdering her 2-day-old son, officials said.

The woman is accused of burying the newborn on a hill near her mother's house in Gwangyang, 287 kilometers south of Seoul, two days after giving birth at a hospital in the nearby city of Mokpo in October 2017 as an unmarried mother.

She had initially told the police that the burial took place after the baby suddenly died while they were at her mother's home alone but later changed her stance to say the baby was buried alive.

She reportedly worked as a day care teacher for preschool children.

Police plan to look into whether the suspect had any accomplices although the man she named as the baby's biological father and his family insist they did not know the baby was born.

It marks the latest in a series of shocking baby abuse cases revealed as part of the government's ongoing campaign to check the well-being of more than 2,000 undocumented babies who have medical records of birth but no official birth registration.