Health and Welfare Minister Chung Chin-youb on Monday stressed the importance of society acknowledging the difference between abuse and discipline when raising kids, during his meeting on ways to combat violence against children.

“We need to change the general perception that often mistakes abusing our children as disciplining them,” Chung said at the meeting with police officers and health professionals in Seoul.

Following high profile child abuse cases reported last month, including one where a father confined his 11-year-old daughter at home and continually abused her for more than two years, the Health Ministry recently pledged to find and visit children who have been absent from school for a long duration. The ministry will also survey those who haven’t been vaccinated as scheduled to discover and prevent possible abuse cases.

Chung vowed to collaborate with municipal governments and schools, as well as the National Health Insurance Service.

“Child abuse is a crime that is not acceptable in any situation,” the minister said. “We plan to use government data, such as the National Health Insurance records, to make early intervention and prevention possible.”

Among the 10,027 confirmed child abusers last year, 8,207 were the victims’ parents. The largest number of cases, 33 percent, were due to the parents’ “lack of knowledge and skills in child care,” such as not being able to differentiate between abuse and discipline, according to the National Child Protection Agency.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)