A South Korean court on March 4, 2026, convicted a woman and two doctors of murder in connection with the death of a newborn delivered during a late-term abortion procedure, in a case that has reignited debate over the country’s unresolved abortion laws.
The ruling was delivered by the Seoul Central District Court, which found that the baby was born alive during a 36-week pregnancy termination attempt in 2019 and was subsequently killed. The verdict has drawn national attention due to the legal and ethical complexities surrounding abortion in South Korea after its constitutional court struck down the country’s abortion ban the same year.
The court sentenced the hospital director to six years in prison and the surgeon who carried out the Caesarean section to four years in prison.
The woman involved in the case, identified by her surname Kwon, received a three-year prison sentence suspended for five years, meaning she will not serve time unless she commits another offense during that period.
Both doctors were taken into custody immediately after the ruling.
The court determined that although the procedure had been arranged as an abortion, the baby was delivered alive, and the subsequent actions taken by the medical staff amounted to murder.
According to prosecutors, Kwon sought an abortion at 36 weeks of pregnancy, which is close to full term. Doctors performed a Caesarean section to end the pregnancy.
However, investigators said the baby was born alive during the procedure. Prosecutors told the court that the infant was then placed in a freezer and left there until death occurred.
Authorities also alleged that the hospital attempted to falsify medical records to indicate that the baby had been stillborn, in an effort to conceal what had happened.
The case remained largely unknown until it resurfaced publicly years later.
The incident drew national attention in 2023, when Kwon uploaded a YouTube video describing her experience with the late-term abortion.
The video triggered public outrage and led South Korea’s health ministry to file a criminal complaint, prompting a police investigation that ultimately resulted in the charges against Kwon and the two doctors.
During the trial, Kwon’s legal team argued that she did not know the baby would be killed after delivery.
Her lawyers told the court she had discovered the pregnancy late, around seven months, and sought an abortion because she lacked financial stability to raise a child.
They also claimed she was concerned about possible birth defects because she had consumed alcohol and smoked during the pregnancy.
However, the court said evidence showed Kwon had heard the baby’s heartbeat during ultrasound examinations and had been informed by doctors that the fetus was healthy.
The judge stated that she was aware that a C-section delivery would likely result in a live birth, concluding that the defendants had accepted the possibility that the newborn would be killed.
The case has intensified discussion around South Korea’s uncertain legal framework for abortion.
In April 2019, the country’s Constitutional Court ruled that the decades-old abortion ban was unconstitutional, effectively decriminalizing the procedure.
However, lawmakers failed to pass replacement legislation by the 2020 deadline set by the court. As a result, South Korea still lacks clear national guidelines specifying how late into pregnancy abortions can legally be performed.
Earlier proposals suggested allowing abortions up to 14 weeks of pregnancy, or up to 24 weeks in specific circumstances such as rape, incest, or health risks, but the legislation stalled in parliament.
(Rh/ARC
