Vietnamese student arrested after abandoned newborn dies in freezing Seoul

The Jungbu Police Precinct received an emergency alert at approximately 6:30 p.m. on Sunday reporting a newborn left inside a paper bag near a building close to Dongguk University.

Officers and firefighters dispatched to the scene rushed the infant to a nearby hospital, but the baby later died, according to Korea JoongAng Daily.

The Women and Juvenile Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced Monday the urgent arrest of two Vietnamese women in their 20s.

One suspect is identified as the infant’s mother, while the other, also a Vietnamese student, is accused of aiding in the abandonment at the scene and being complicit in the alleged crime, Chosun Daily reported.

Investigators believe the mother gave birth in a restroom inside a university building on Sunday afternoon. The infant was subsequently left completely exposed outdoors at the entrance of a building near the Chungmu Haksa dormitory.

At the time of the abandonment, the perceived outdoor temperature had plummeted to minus 3 degrees Celsius, according to Mail Business Newspaper.

The mother is reportedly in poor health and has been admitted to a hospital for treatment. Authorities stated they will proceed with questioning to clarify the full sequence of events, including the circumstances of the birth and the motives behind the abandonment, once her medical condition stabilizes.