by Marianna Brogna, staff reporter
Two siblings, a 9-year-old boy and an 11-year-old girl who came to the country from Korea in 2010 were taken in by a 42-year-old Korean woman. She kept them as slaves until last Thursday.
“It was wrong to treat those kids like that. They should have figured it out sooner because it could have saved them a lot of trouble. They are gonna have a hard time getting over it and trying to get past it,” junior, Amanda Leon said.
Sook Yeoung Park allegedly had forced these two children, who are now 14 and 16, to repeatedly give her massages, manicures, and pedicures. If any of these were done wrong or poorly, they would be beaten. They were also forced to clean the house, work at the Queens market and give her all of their earnings. Park was arrested on Saturday, January 10th after the 16-year-old came into school with injuries all over her body. She confided to a concerned teacher at school.
“I think it’s very wrong to take advantage of people new to this country, and even more wrong to abuse them. It’s a disgrace. I’m glad that the kids were taken out of that house and have a chance to be normal again. I hope they are well taken care of after all this,” junior Sophie Chianese said.
Park was charged with labor trafficking, third-degree assault and child welfare endangerment. The children came into contact with their mother again after three years and are now being handled by a social worker.
