President Moon Jae-in has called for measures to prevent accidents involving children left unattended at home.

In a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, Moon lamented a recent incident in which two elementary school-age brothers suffered severe burns in a fire started when they tried to boil instant noodles while home alone.

Calling it heartbreaking to see children left without sufficient care from adults, he called on related ministries to increase investigative personnel to look into cases of child abuse.

He also called for strong systemic measures to forcibly protect children, condemning what he called "tragic" incidents in which children were returned to their parents even after neighbors reported that they were abused or abandoned.