Suwon, South Korea (CNN) -- A South Korean couple whose three-month-old daughter died of malnutrition while they were raising a virtual child in an online game pleaded guilty to negligent homicide on Friday.
Kim Jae-beom, 40, and his common-law wife, Kim Yun-jeong, 25, will be sentenced on April 16.
Prosecutors are seeking a five-year sentence for the couple, whose defense included a statement alleging gaming addiction.
The pair is expecting a second child in August. Their first daughter's name, Kim Sa-rang, means "love" in Korean. She died in September of malnutrition while they were engaged in overnight sessions at a PC Bang, or a 24-hour Internet cafe. The couple would allegedly put her to bed and leave for 10-hour gaming sessions.
They were playing Prius Online, a 3-D fantasy game in which players raise an online girl who gains magic powers as she is nurtured and grows older.
"I think of our baby in heaven," the father responded when asked if he had anything to say. "I will be guilty until the day I die."
The father -- a slight, gray-haired man and the mother -- a visibly emotional woman -- were dressed in pale green detention center uniforms. They appeared nervous and timid; neither had previous convictions. The father was a taxi and truck driver, while the mother was unemployed.
They said they met in 2008 and the father introduced Kim to online gaming. Sa-rang was born prematurely in July last year and died a few months later. At the time of death, she weighed 5.5 pounds (2.5 kgs), the court heard. She was 6.4 pounds when she was born.
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