A group of obstetricians pledged not to conduct abortions at an event held in an auditorium in Seoul, Sunday. More than 680 doctors from around the country said in a joint statement that this was to highlight doctor's original duty of protecting human life and help Korea move away from what they called a long-standing stigma of being the "home of abortions."

"Countless fetuses have been killed in illegal abortions. But growing calls for the need to set proper countermeasures have gone unheeded for fear that they might hit doctors' bottom line," they said in a statement. "We hope this fuels the campaign against abortions."

Under the law, abortion is only allowed in cases where a pregnancy stems from an incestuous sexual relations, sexual assault, or when having the child poses a grave threat to the mother's life.

pss@koreatimes.co.kr