In marking the nation’s 100th anniversary of Children’s Day, both the ruling and opposition parties emphasized the need to tackle child abuse.

In a written briefing on Thursday, ruling Democratic Party(DP) spokesperson Shin Hyun-young said efforts to protect children from abuse are still insufficient, citing the deaths of 43 children due to abuse last year.

Shin said that South Korea ranks at the very bottom in terms of children’s well-being among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. She stressed the need for the nation to raise awareness of children’s rights and devise substantive measures to prevent child abuse.

The lawmaker then said the DP will exert its best efforts to make South Korea a country free of violence against children and create a society where children can grow safely and strong without discrimination or exclusion.

Meanwhile, the chief spokesperson for the main opposition People Power Party, Kim Hyung-dong, said in a statement that the reality remains that children continue to suffer from abuse due to blind spots in the law.

Kim noted that the number of child abuse cases in the nation jumped more than 65 percent from 2016 to total 30-thousand-905 in 2020.

He said the incoming government’s key policies include plans to establish a system that prevents child abuse and devises measures to support children’s healthy growth.