Chinese national arrested for abandoning son in Jeju

Jeju island on Sept. 2. [YONHAP]

Police in Jeju arrested a Chinese national on Friday for abandoning his nine-year-old son in a park on the Korean island.

According to the police, the man in his 30s left his son in hopes that the child would have a better life in Korea.

The father and his son arrived on Aug. 14, ostensibly for tourism.

After spending three days at a hotel in Jeju, they ran out of travel funds and were forced to live on the streets from Aug. 17.

More than a week later on Aug. 25, the father left his son at a park along with their luggage and a note apologizing to his son and expressing his hope for the child to have a better life in Korea.

Authorities were able to locate the father using surveillance camera footage and apprehended him in Seogwipo.

The man reportedly explained to the police that he was facing financial difficulties and believed that his son would have a better life growing up in a child protection facility in Korea than in China.

The child was subsequently placed in a child protection facility in Jeju and left for China on Saturday to be reunited with his relatives.

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]