According to the Prosecutor’s Office, Shin called a urology clinic on Feb. 3 to book a surgery, while the body of his dead 7-year-old son Won-young still lay neglected in the veranda of the house. The couple later removed and buried the body in the mountains.

This fresh piece of information evoked public disbelief and disgust.

“The only person Won-young could rely on for protection against his stepmother’s abuse was the father, but Shin sought for vasectomy reversal as soon as Won-young died,” said enraged Seo Hye-jeong, the vice representative of Council for Families of Child Abuse Victims.

Shin had stood by when his 38-year-old wife by second marriage surnamed Kim locked up his son in an uninsulated bathroom during winter. Kim starved the boy, beat him, and occasionally showered him with ice-cold water and chlorine bleach.

When Shin would use the toilet, Won-young faced the wall without saying anything.

For three months the boy hung on to his life. Shin testified that the dying boy moaned for “mother” minutes before he drew his last breath. Although Shin saw that his son was in a critical state, he closed the door on the boy.

Kim and Shin were indicted on Monday for first-degree murder, unlawful disposal of human body, violation of Child Welfare Law and Punishment for Special Cases of Child Abuse, by the Pyeongtaek Branch of Suwon District Prosecutors’ Office.

By Lim Jeong-yeo (kaylalim@heraldcorp.com)