Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
Doctor arrested over termination of pregnancy at 9 months
Activists hold a rally for abortion rights in Seoul, in this August 2022 file photo. A doctor was arrested on Saturday following the termination of a pregnancy at 9 months last year. Newsis
By Jung Min-ho
Surgeon faces murder charge as abortion remains in legal gray area
A doctor has been arrested and charged with murder after the termination of a pregnancy at nine months last year, underscoring persistent legal uncertainties as lawmakers continue to struggle with abortion regulation.
Judge Park Jeong-ho at the Seoul Central District Court issued arrest warrants on Saturday for the surgeon, identified only by his last name Shim, and the clinic’s head, surnamed Yoon, over their alleged roles in the death of a baby believed to have been born alive and then left to die through willful neglect.
This arrest follows an initial October 2024 court rejection of detention requests for the doctors. In the intervening months, investigators conducted extensive searches of the clinic’s electronic devices and the mobile phones of key suspects to gather additional evidence.
Speaking to reporters last year, the investigators said they secured evidence suggesting the baby was alive “before and after” the abortion procedure. They also found that hundreds of other pregnant women had undergone abortion procedures at the same clinic.
The case gained widespread attention after the release of a YouTube video by the woman involved, drawing scrutiny due to the legal implications and rarity of the case.
In 2019, the Constitutional Court ruled that an outright abortion ban was unconstitutional, effectively decriminalizing the medical procedure. However, without subsequent legislation to clearly define the permissible limits, the issue remains in a legal gray area. As a result, providers can still face prosecution ― possibly for murder ― if the procedures are performed too late in pregnancy or if the methods used are deemed unlawful.
Experts speculate that an abortion at such a late stage might have involved inducing labor, which the law could interpret as “murder after birth.”
The Korean Medical Association, the country’s largest group of physicians, condemned the incident in a statement which included the statement that "a fetus at 36 weeks of pregnancy is a baby who could survive well if born, and terminating a pregnancy at this stage is tantamount to murder.”
Lawmakers at the Democratic Party of Korea were drafting a bill to address legal loopholes. However, these efforts were all but suspended following the declaration of martial law by former President Yoon Suk Yeol on Dec. 3 and the ensuing political turmoil.
Around the same time, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety was reviewing whether to approve Hyundai Pharm’s abortion pill, but this process was also halted due to legislative gridlock.
All previous legislative efforts to address abortion have failed so far due to the sensitive and polarizing nature of the issue.
How late a woman should be allowed to get an abortion has been one of the topics hindering progress. While some bills proposed in the past by conservative lawmakers sought to allow abortions within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy, their liberal counterparts said the procedure should be allowed in later terms.