South Korea court convicts woman of murder in abortion case

A South Korean court has given a suspended prison sentence to a woman convicted in connection with a 36-week abortion case that resulted in the death of a viable fetus.

The court also noted that the outcome might have been different if the state had made greater efforts to improve the economic and social conditions that hinder pregnancy, childbirth and child-rearing.

Court finds evidence of intent

The Seoul Central District Court on Wednesday found the woman, identified only by her surname Kwon, guilty of murder and sentenced her to three years in prison, suspended for five years.

Two doctors involved in the procedure were also convicted of murder. The fetus was delivered by cesarean section when the pregnancy was between 34 and 36 weeks, after which it was placed in a freezer. They were also accused of falsifying a stillbirth certificate after a video posted by Kwon showing the procedure drew widespread public attention.

The hospital director was sentenced to six years in prison, along with a fine of 1.5 million won ($1,000) and a forfeiture order of 1.15 billion won, while the operating surgeon received a four-year prison term.

Investigators found that the hospital director had performed 527 abortion procedures between August 2022 and July 2024, receiving about 1.46 billion won in fees.

While abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy is prohibited under Korean law, abortion itself cannot currently be prosecuted because the Constitutional Court struck down the country’s abortion law in 2019 and lawmakers have failed to enact a replacement.

The key issue in the trial was whether Kwon had intended to kill the fetus. Kwon’s lawyers argued in closing statements that she had only been told by an acquaintance that the baby would be stillborn.

But the court found that intent existed, noting that she had confirmed the fetus had a normal heartbeat before the procedure and had signed documents consenting to the handling of the remains. Judges also said she had searched for hospitals and costs related to the procedure but found no evidence she had explored childbirth support services or adoption options.

The court also rejected the defense’s argument that Kwon believed abortion was not a crime, concluding that the fetus had been delivered at a stage when it was capable of surviving outside the womb.

Court considered mitigating factors

At the same time, the court said mitigating factors had been taken into consideration.

Following the Constitutional Court’s ruling, the Justice Ministry drafted a revision to the criminal law in 2020 that would have allowed abortions up to 14 weeks of pregnancy and permitted them between 15 and 24 weeks under limited circumstances. The bill, however, failed to pass the National Assembly.

“Women often face significant economic and social disadvantages related to pregnancy and childbirth due to discriminatory customs and patriarchal culture,” the judges said.

“While the regulatory vacuum does not determine whether the act constitutes a crime, there was room for mitigation in this case. It is difficult to unconditionally condemn the defendant,” they added.

Kwon’s court-appointed lawyer said after the ruling that there was no precedent for applying murder charges to a woman who had undergone an abortion.

“It is deeply regrettable that the court appears to assume that a desperate woman had a duty to research options such as giving birth and arranging adoption in advance,” the lawyer said.

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.