Transgendered father jailed for beating children who refused to call him 'mom'

A South Korean transgender father of four was sentenced to a two-year jail term for abusing his children, who refused to call him "mom". The 31-year-old man identified as Oh, was charged with starving and beating up his children (one born to former girlfriend and three others to his second girlfriend).

Oh lived with his second girlfriend, 31, from 2006 until last year. The girl friend also received a two-year term by the same court for the same charges as Oh. "Although the defendants claim that the beating was for educational purpose and legitimate, their conduct cannot be seen as a way of parental guidance or educational instruction, given the numbers, means and reasons of their violence," Presiding Judge Choi Doo-ho at the Jeonju District Court said.



Oh, who has been taking female hormone injections once a week, led a normal life in the morning hours but acted like a "woman" at night to work at a local transgender bar, according to court documents. During court trials, he showed strong desire to receive a sex reassignment surgery to become a "real woman."

Oh remains legally identified as a man as those who want to change their gender must receive court approval in South Korea. While sex change operations are old news from the United States to Thailand, they are still a novelty in South Korea, where Confucian ideals of filial piety and a male-dominated hierarchy are strong.