The adoptive mother of Jeong-in, a 16-month-old girl who died last October after suffering months of alleged abuse, denied the murder charge against her, claiming that she did not intentionally abuse or kill the baby.

At an initial hearing at the Seoul Southern District Court on Wednesday, the lawyer representing the mother, surnamed Jang, said while there could be a causality between negligence and death, the accused did not use blunt force to intentionally kill the victim.

Jang admitted to shoving the toddler on her abdomen and back and shaking her while holding her by the arms, before dropping Jeong-in due to pain from a recent surgery.

The accused admitted to abuse that caused fractures to the toddler's left collarbone and right rib, but denied causing injuries to the back of her head and right hip bone.

Jang also said she takes responsibility for neglecting to take care of Jeong-in, which led to her death.