“Mom’s cell phone was turned off”… Newlyweds who saved a 4-year-old’underwear child’

What can I do if I meet a four-year-old boy on the road wearing only underwear in a weather of -20 degrees Celsius?
It is said that at about 5:40 pm on the 8th, when the severe cold after 35 years in Seoul hit, the newlyweds were initially suspicious of their eyes and ears when faced with such an unbelievable event in a residential area in Gangbuk-gu, Seoul. Lee Byung-geun (30) and Ham Jung-min (29), who were married in May last year, talked calmly about the situation in an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo.

The couple was buying things from a convenience store in Ui-dong, Gangbuk-gu. But, somewhere, I heard something like a cry. Following the sound, a child was trembling in his underwear.
“Did you not even wear a coat in this cold weather? Why are you crying alone over there?”
The couple approached the child, asking each other in trembling voices. Ms. A, who appears to be about four years old, was pacing among vehicles parked on the side of the road. The child who saw them said, “I lost my mother. Please find me,” he cried and trembled. Her husband, Lee, took off her coat and wrapped the child. The child’s underwear seemed to have urine and feces, but he was so worried that his body moved instinctively.

Mrs. Ham calmed the child and asked, “Where is your house?” Fortunately, the child knew the way home. When I visited the house with my child, the public entrance door on the first floor was locked with a password. The child did not know the password for the entrance hall. Because there was no way to find help, the couple called 112. Mr. Lee said, “The child is crying too cold in his underwear. I think you need to help,” he reported.

While waiting for the police, the couple took the child and went back to the convenience store. My husband waited for the police outside the convenience store. Mrs. Ham had a conversation with the child inside. He told the child, “I’ll buy you something to eat,” but the child continued to refuse. Mr. Ham said, “There was a report that the child was hungry, but I never said that he was hungry. Instead, Mr. Ham bought a hot drink and put it in the child’s hand. Ms. A, who warmed up, said, “I woke up and went out to find my mother because I didn’t have my mother.”

Mr. Ham tried to contact Ms. A’s biological mother. This is because Miss A showed the silver bracelet on her arm to Mr. Ham and said, “Here is my mother’s contact information.” However, contact with his mother was not reached. Mr. Ham said, “I made a call right away to the contact number written on the bracelet, but the cell phone was turned off,” he said. “I left a text message stating that I found the child because I could see it later.”

After that, the police arrived at around 5:57 PM, and at around 6:02, five minutes later, the mother urgently entered the convenience store to find the child. The birth mother was soon handed over to the police, and the Seoul Gangbuk Police Station accused the mother of abandonment or neglect under the Child Welfare Act and is currently conducting an investigation. A police official said, “Ms. A is living in a relative’s house by separating them.

The Lee and Mrs. Lee spared no words in the controversy over abuse surrounding Miss A. His wife, Ham, said, “We have no idea whether the child’s mother really abused her or how the child grew up,” he said. “We are cautious about appearing to testify of the child’s mother’s abuse through interviews.” Her husband Lee said, “I am worried that my child’s mother is being witch-hunted in a situation where I do not know the post-war situation.

The Lee couple were sad about the rescue situation at the time. Mr. Lee said, “When we found the child, there were some people who just watched and passed by,” he said. “Many people acted like us, but I felt regretful about the appearance of those who turned away.” He said, “I felt like a society that didn’t even have a small interest in children.”

Jung-in, who died from child abuse, was in the midst of controversy, so there was greater interest in the’underwear child’. Mr. Ham also said about the case of Jung In-i, “it is an event that will make everyone angry, regrettable, and heartbreaking.” He added, “However, we hope that it will not end with criticism, but lead to a small interest in our neighbors.”

Reporter Garam Lee [email protected]