By Conner Board -- KING 5 Seattle | Follow this link to access the online article
FEDERAL WAY, Wash. — A lawsuit filed this week alleges Washington state child welfare officials failed to protect a 5-year-old girl with special needs who is believed to have been killed by her father, despite years of abuse reports leading up to her death.
The complaint, filed Feb. 3 in King County Superior Court, alleges the state’s Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) received reports of abuse and neglect involving 5-year-old Soo Jin Hahn beginning shortly after her birth but failed to remove her from her father's care.
The lawsuit was filed by a relative of Soo Jin Hahn who is represented by Attorney Loren Cochran, as well as other attorneys with Cochran Douglas, PLLC. A tort claim was filed in October of 2025, which preceded the lawsuit.
Soo Jin Hahn, who was nonverbal and had special needs, lived with her father, Woo Jin Hahn, his girlfriend, and his girlfriend’s children.
In May 2025, police responded to their apartment in Federal Way where they found Soo Jin Hahn unresponsive. She later died at the hospital.
According to probable cause documents, Woo Jin Hahn was the one who called police to report that his daughter had stopped breathing. When officers arrived, they observed several bruises and lacerations on her face and body.
Hahn later told investigators he had "snapped" the night before. Probable cause documents state he admitted to hitting Soo Jin multiple times with a metal cup at dinner. Then when she did not use the toilet correctly, he said he tied her arms to a pull-up bar above the toilet and punched her as hard as he could numerous times while she hung there for around three hours.
According to her autopsy report cited in the lawsuit, Soo Jin died from circulatory collapse involving dehydration and multiple blunt force injuries. The lawsuit states the medical examiner documented at least 52 separate injuries across her body.
Woo Jin Hahn was arrested and charged with multiple alleged crimes connected to her death, including homicide by abuse.
The lawsuit alleges the state received multiple reports about the family starting in 2020, when a medical provider reported concerns of neglect involving Soo Jin for not receiving necessary medical follow-up.
In 2022, the lawsuit states a teacher reported observing a three-inch bruise on another child in the home, who said Woo Jin Hahn had struck her with a bamboo stick and that she was afraid of him. Hahn’s girlfriend allegedly admitted to police that Hahn hit all the children with a bamboo stick as punishment, including Soo Jin, but said he had stopped after the report was made to CPS.
According to the complaint, in August 2023, a relative reported seeing a large, bruised welt on a child's arm who lived in the home. The child reported being hit with a stick and indicated she had also been struck on her back. A CPS investigation was allegedly initiated.
In January 2025, just four months before Soo Jin's death, a child in the home allegedly told a school counselor that Woo Jin Hahn hit him with wooden and metal sticks. The lawsuit claims the child reported being scared at home and said his parents told him not to talk about it.
Then in April 2025, the lawsuit alleges a CPS caseworker observed a large bruise on Soo Jin's face. Her father claimed she had rolled over while sleeping and hit a wall heater. CPS did not request a full medical examination and closed the case, allegedly determining the children were safe because the parents were transparent and cooperative in adjusting their disciplinary methods.
One month later, Soo Jin was dead.
Other children in the home allegedly told investigators after Soo Jin's death that she was beaten with spoons, umbrellas and bamboo sticks, forced to hold exhausting positions for extended periods and that Hahn would make the children beat one another. The children said Soo Jin was beaten the most.
Woo Jin Hahn allegedly told authorities it was normal for him to have a "physical reaction" to Soo Jin once or twice a week that would leave bruises lasting days. When asked if his actions led to his daughter's death, he reportedly answered "yes."
The complaint alleges the state was negligent and failed to take meaningful action to protect Soo Jin despite documented concerns spanning multiple years.
KING 5 reached out to the Department of Children, Youth and Families, which said it cannot comment on active litigation.
