Pastor, wife charged after child found wandering alone

By David Ibata

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Members of an Alpharetta congregation say an associate pastor and his wife may not have understood the consequences of leaving their young children at home alone while they attended a worship service at church, Channel 2 Action News reports.

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Channel 2 Action News Jongkyu Kim, 37, the associate pastor of Sae Han Presbyterian Church on Kimball Bridge Road, and his wife, Myunghwa Jeong, 35, were arrested after police found their 2-year-old son wandering outside by himself, according to a police report.

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Jongkyu Kim, 37, the associate pastor of Sae Han Presbyterian Church on Kimball Bridge Road, and his wife, Myunghwa Jeong, 35, were arrested after police found their 2-year-old son wandering outside by himself, according to a police report.

They initially were charged with felony cruelty to children and misdemeanor reckless conduct, but the felony charges later were dropped, Channel 2 reported. Church members told Channel 2 that the couple were good parents who may not have understood the implications of leaving youngsters at home alone because of a cultural barrier.

The investigation began about 6 a.m. Friday when a resident in the 10900 block of Wittenridge Drive reported she had found a toddler walking around the parking lot outside her townhouse, crying and upset, police said. Not seeing any adults around, the woman brought the child inside and called police.

Soon after, officers spotted a couple in the parking lot, looking for someone. That couple turned out to be the child’s parents.

The father allegedly told police he and his wife had left their three children, ages 2, 6 and 8, at home in bed when the couple went to church about 5:50 a.m.

“Mr. Kim said [that] while praying at church, something came over him” that something was wrong, “and he and his wife left to go back home to check on the kids,” police said in the report. “When they arrived home, they observed the front door to their home open. A check of the home revealed that one of their children [was] gone.”

Police worked with the state Division of Family and Children Services to have the pastor of Kim’s church take custody of the children and then arrested the parents. They spent the weekend in the Fulton County Jail and have since been released on bond.

Speaking through their pastor, they declined Channel 2’s request to speak with them.