Police logo. Kyunghyang Shinmun DB

Police have applied for arrest warrants for two Vietnamese international students who abandoned a newborn immediately after birth, leading to the death of the infant.

The Women and Youth Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency stated on the 16th that on the night of the 15th it applied for arrest warrants for A, a Vietnamese national in her 20s who is an international student and gave birth, and for B, a woman in her 20s of the same nationality, on suspicion of child-abuse murder.

A is suspected of giving birth at about 6:30 p.m. on the 15th at the dormitory of Dongguk University in Jung-gu, Seoul, then abandoning the newborn nearby, causing the baby to die. B is suspected of assisting with the abandonment at the scene and of participating in the offense by A.

Police and fire authorities responded to a 112 call stating “a newborn has been abandoned in a paper bag” and found the baby in cardiac arrest at the scene. The infant was rushed to a nearby hospital but ultimately died. To determine the exact cause of death, police conducted an autopsy on the victim.

The investigation found that A entered Korea on the 12th while pregnant to participate in a short-term Korean-language course held by Dongguk University's Korean Language Education Center on the 15th. Immediately after being taken into custody, A was transferred to a hospital for postpartum treatment.

Police are further investigating the specific circumstances of the crime and whether there was prior collusion between the two.