Offence, offender, and victim characteristics in South Korean filicides, 1948–1962: A descriptive study
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
8-4-2023
Abstract
Filicide is defined as the killing of children from birth to age 18 by a natural or step-parent. The legal definition of filicide in Korea does not impose such age limits. Although families in contemporary Korea are nuclear in structure, they were multigenerational prior to the industrialisation that occurred during the second half of the twentieth century. While psychiatric and evolutionary theories have been predominantly used in the filicide literature, prior works have neglected to examine how culture shapes violence against one’s offspring. This paper explores the offence, offender, and victim characteristics in South Korean filicides (1948–1962) through a content analysis of a major newspaper (Chosun Ilbo). Results indicate that filicides occur in one-on-one contexts, primarily carried out by biological parents against their offspring while adoptive children appeared as victims due to the genealogical customs practiced in Korean society. Results indicate that more than 12% of filicide victims are adults. The implications of our findings are discussed.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/jip.1620
Publication Information
Shon, Leah and Shon, Phillip C. (2023). "Offence, offender, and victim characteristics in South Korean filicides, 1948–1962: A descriptive study." Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling 20.3, 196-211.
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