Police have opened an investigation after the body of a male fetus, estimated at less than 18 weeks of gestation, was found at a wastewater treatment facility in Asan, South Chungcheong Province.
According to the Asan Police Station, the body — about 20 centimeters long and weighing 110 grams — was discovered at about 11:30 p.m. on the 27th in a collection basin at a wastewater treatment facility in Tangjeong-myeon, Asan.
Police estimate the fetus was less than 18 weeks into gestation based on its size and stage of development.
Because of the fetus's small size, however, investigators have yet to determine whether the pregnancy ended in a natural miscarriage or was terminated.
Police plan to request an autopsy and DNA analysis from the National Forensic Service to establish the precise circumstances of death. They are also investigating how the body entered the facility.
The facility treats both industrial wastewater from businesses in an industrial complex and household sewage from nearby villages. Located inside the industrial complex, it is said to have limited public access.
Because wastewater from multiple pipelines converges at the collection basin where the body was found, police plan to trace each line to pinpoint how the body entered the system.
"We plan to identify the entry route and, based on the autopsy results from the National Forensic Service, investigate the circumstances under which the body was abandoned," a police official said.
