A complainant who had accused a spouse, amid divorce litigation, of child abuse but was referred for false accusation cleared the allegation through a supplementary prosecution investigation.
The Criminal Division 1 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Director General Shin Do-uk) said on Apr. 6 that in a case where police identified the complainant as having filed a false accusation after the complainant reported a culpable spouse for child abuse during divorce proceedings, it rendered a no-suspicion decision through supplementary investigation.
In this case, even though prosecutors, when declining to indict the child abuse case, initially determined that it would be difficult to recognize the complainant's false-accusation charge, police nonetheless identified the complainant for false accusation and referred the case.
According to prosecutors, the complainant persistently appealed their unfair treatment and requested direct questioning from immediately after the case was referred to the prosecution. After directly questioning the complainant, prosecutors confirmed across the entire case file that the complainant's statements were consistent.
Specifically, an outpatient record from Aug. 2022 noted suspicions suggestive of child abuse, and a family-court investigator's report from May of the same year confirmed that the spouse said they "tried it after hearing that sprinkling water on the child would make them less fearful," leading prosecutors to find the complainant's claims highly credible.
The prosecution said, "We will exercise appropriate supplementary investigative authority to listen closely to the voices of suspects who claim unfairness during investigations and protect the human rights of those involved in cases."