The Supreme Court on Friday confirmed a lower court's 30-year prison sentences for a couple in their 20s convicted of abusing and starving their 8-year-old daughter to death.

The third-grade elementary school child died at their home in Incheon, 40 kilometers west of Seoul, in March last year after suffering nearly three years of maltreatment and violence by her biological mother and stepfather, 29 and 28 years old, respectively.

The top court also approved a lower court order that the couple undergo 200 hours of child abuse treatment program and be banned from working at child-related facilities for 10 years.

It said the lower court's judgment on the case did not have any problems, such as a misunderstanding of the law.

The case became known after the couple called for emergency help, saying their child was not breathing.

Rescuers dispatched to the scene found the child dead with many bruises on her body. Her weight was only 13 kilograms, nearly 10 kg less than those of her peers.

Investigations revealed that the couple subjected her to beatings and other physical punishment on 35 occasions since early 2018 for reasons like lies and eating food secretly.

The couple got married in 2017. The mother had the girl and a boy from her previous marriage. (Yonhap)