France and Korea Fight Over Two Frozen Babies

Sept. 15, 2006 — -- Jean-Louis and Veronique Courjault were respected members of a small community of French expatriates in South Korea. He worked in Seoul as an engineer for an American company. She was a dedicated volunteer at a local kindergarten.

But the couple's stellar reputation was shattered this July after Courjault said he returned home to Seoul from a vacation in France and made a gruesome discovery. He said when he opened the freezer in his kitchen, he found the frozen bodies of two babies, stuffed in plastic bags.

Courjault called the police and agreed to be interviewed. But before Korean authorities could finish their investigation, the Courjaults flew to France and have vowed never to return to Korea.

The South Koreans conducted their investigation and reportedly concluded that the babies' DNA was similar to that of Courjault's. The French expatriates, however, deny that allegation, and South Korean and French authorities have been arguing over a possible prosecution ever since.

So far, the French government has refused to help the Koreans. "We have no evidence against the Courjaults," Nicolas de Lacoste, spokesman for the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in a telephone interview.

The Courjaults "are only witnesses in this case," added the couple's lawyer Marc Morin. Sylvie Pantz, deputy general prosecutor of the Orleans Tribunal in France, and in charge of the investigation, denounced the South Korean methods. "The Korean police had the bad taste to denounce Mr. Courjault before the investigation's result was known," she said.

South Korean papers jumped on the story, accusing the French couple of suspicious behavior. "In this case, there are some xenophobic elements and a media harassment against the Courjaults," said Morin. "The couple have no reason to come back to Korea."

The French justice system "is competent for crimes committed abroad," said Guillaume Didier, spokesman for the French Ministry of Justice. If found guilty, the couple could get life sentences in France.