A South Korean appeals court acquitted a young woman previously convicted of murdering her newborn baby at a hospital after she sought to terminate a pregnancy at 36 weeks gestation.
On Thursday, 23 Jul 2026 GMT+7, a South Korean appeals court ruled to acquit the female defendant surnamed “Kwon,” who had earlier been sentenced to prison by a lower court for murdering her newborn at a hospital, citing that she had undergone an abortion at 36 weeks of pregnancy.
The case began in 2024 when Ms. Kwon, in her 20s, posted a YouTube video about undergoing an abortion at 36 weeks (approximately 8 months), sparking intense public debate that led the Ministry of Health to report the matter to police for investigation.
Kwon claimed she only realized she was pregnant at seven months and sought to abort because she lacked stable income and was worried the baby might have disabilities due to her drinking and smoking during pregnancy.
However, prosecutors stated the baby was delivered alive by cesarean section but was then placed in a freezer until it died, and false documents were created claiming it was a stillbirth.
The lower court ruled in March that Kwon was guilty of joint murder and sentenced her to three years in prison, suspended, while the operating doctor was sentenced to four years and the hospital director to six years.
But at the appeals court, judges accepted the defense argument that Kwon was unaware the baby would be born alive and then killed after surgery, as the abortion broker had told her the fetus was already dead. The court therefore acquitted Ms. Kwon.
The two doctors admitted to killing the infant, so the appeals court upheld their convictions but reduced their prison terms to two and a half years for the surgeon and four years for the hospital director.
This case attracted significant attention in South Korea as it was the first murder prosecution against a woman seeking a late-term abortion, including charges against the involved doctors, highlighting gaps in South Korea’s abortion laws which lack clear gestational limits.
South Korea lifted its abortion ban in 2019. The Constitutional Court recommended parliament legislate to allow abortion up to 22 weeks, but political issues and opposition from conservative and religious groups have stalled legislation, creating a legal vacuum.
Amnesty International welcomed Ms. Kwon’s acquittal but called on the South Korean government to promptly enact laws protecting and regulating safe abortion services clearly to prevent future incidents like this.
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Source:BBC