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Korean court to rule on abortion case as legal void turns pregnancy termination into murder trial

Published: 01 Mar. 2026, 15:20

KIM JU-YEON
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Then-Constitutional Court President Yoo Nam-seok and justices enter the main courtroom of the Constitutional Court in Seoul on April 11, 2019, to deliver a ruling on the constitutionality of a law that criminalized abortion. The court ruled the ban unconstitutional that day. [NEWS1]

In a country with no abortion law since 2021, a woman terminated a 36-week pregnancy and now faces a murder conviction. Civic groups are urging a Seoul court to find her not guilty as she awaits a verdict on Wednesday.

The incident began with a video uploaded in June 2024, in which the woman, surnamed Kwon, documented terminating her pregnancy at 36 weeks. Public shock and an online witch hunt followed. Kwon deleted the video, but the controversy escalated into a police investigation after the Ministry of Health and Welfare referred the case to authorities.

In January, prosecutors sought a six-year prison sentence for Kwon on a charge of murder. They also sought a 10-year sentence for the director of the hospital where the procedure was carried out and six years for the surgeon who performed it.

The Wednesday ruling will largely hinge on whether the baby is determined to have been born alive — which would support a murder conviction — or is considered stillborn, which would not. That's because the crime of abortion doesn't exist in Korea, nor do any abortion laws.

Abortion decriminalized, but legal vacuum remains

Members of women's rights civic groups embrace outside the Constitutional Court in Jongno District, central Seoul, on April 11, 2019, after the court ruled that provisions of the criminal law punishing abortion were incompatible with the Constitution. [NEWS1]

Abortion is not illegal in Korea. In 2019, the Constitutional Court struck down a decades-old ban that had criminalized the procedure except in cases of rape or incest, or when the mother's health was at risk.

Lawmakers were given until the end of 2020 to enact new abortion legislation, which the court recommended include a 22-week limit — but failed to meet that deadline, effectively leaving abortion decriminalized without specified grounds or time limits since 2021.

Since the court ruling, progressive parties and pro-choice groups have advocated for legislation that guarantees a women's right to abortion, such as a proposal from lawmakers from the Democratic Party and Progress Party that would allow abortions for any reason up to 14 weeks of pregnancy, and up to 24 weeks in cases involving social or economic reasons.

The conservative People Power Party has pushed for legislation that would penalize abortions after 10 weeks of pregnancy. Religious and anti-abortion groups have asked for laws that increase protections for the fetus.

Choe Jae-hyeong, a former People Power Party lawmaker and then-presidential candidate, looks on as his wife, Lee So-yeon, stages a protest against abortion in Mapo District, western Seoul, on Sept. 22, 2021. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Amid the legal vacuum, medical service providers have been convicted of murder in previous cases. A doctor who performed an abortion on a woman at 34 weeks of pregnancy was convicted of murder by the Supreme Court in 2021 for intentionally causing the death of a baby born alive .

Prosecutors in Kwon’s case are making a similar argument, saying that terminating a 36-week fetus capable of surviving outside the womb can amount to murder if the baby was born alive . Prosecutors said Kwon must have at least been aware that the fetus could have died after the cesarean section for the abortion began.

Kwon's lawyers counter that her intent was not to commit murder and did not knowingly accept that a baby born alive would be put to death by medical staff.

A cry for change

Kwon shows her belly in a video where she detailed her experience of terminating a nine-month pregnancy, uploaded to YouTube in 2024 then deleted. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Against this backdrop, 127 civic groups and nearly 5,000 individuals have signed a petition protesting the prosecution’s murder charge against Kwon and calling for her acquittal, the Center for Sexual Rights and Reproductive Justice (Share) said on Thursday.

The petition was sent to the judge overseeing Kwon's case by Moimnet, an alliance of pro-choice associations in Korea.

The petition asks the judge to find Kwon not guilty of murder, citing her lack of intent.

“Kwon learned of her pregnancy at a very late stage and feared that her daily habits and use of contraceptive pills before she knew she was pregnant may have seriously harmed the fetus,” the petition said.

“She could not expect any support from her family or her sexual partner and did not have the financial means to raise a child.”

"For a woman who decided to terminate her pregnancy under such circumstances, it is difficult to imagine that she would have contemplated killing a baby born alive," the petition writes.

No law, no safety

Participants call for the introduction of abortion pills, health insurance coverage for abortion procedures and comprehensive guarantees of reproductive health and rights during a rally marking the first anniversary of the repeal of the abortion ban in front of Bosingak Pavilion in Jongno District, central Seoul, on April 10, 2022. [NEWS1]

The petition further argues that the delay in abortions rose from the absence of a medical system where women can receive credible information about clinical procedures.

With no legal framework governing how and when abortions can be performed since 2019, women and doctors have had to navigate the procedure without clear guidance. As it is not covered by Korea’s public health insurance system, reliable information on clinical procedures is difficult to obtain, and women must pay out of pocket.

Abortion drugs — which provide a safe, effective and affordable way to terminate a pregnancy, especially in its early stages — are not approved by the government. Thousands of people have turned to unverified drugs sold on the underground market since the abortion ban lost effect, according to Ministry of Food and Drug Safety data.

In Kwon's case, she was "repeatedly told by several hospitals she visited that they could not perform the abortion, but was not given any information about how a termination at 36 weeks would be carried out, the difficulties involved or the potential impact on her or the fetus," according to Moimnet.

"Cases like this continue to occur because no system has been put in place to provide guidance on safe abortions at different stages of pregnancy or to connect women with support for childbirth and child rearing."

Moimnet plans to hold a press conference in front of the Seoul Central District Court in Seoul’s southern Seocho District, where the first ruling is due on Wednesday, to outline their position and condemn the Health Ministry’s intervention.

BY KIM JU-YEON [[email protected]]