A South Korean court has acquitted a woman, identified as Kwon, of murdering a newborn after her late-term abortion attempt, a case that has highlighted ambiguities in the country's abortion laws. Kwon had been convicted of murder in March alongside two doctors involved in the procedure, but an appeals court on Thursday overturned her conviction.
The appeals court ruled that Kwon may not have known the baby would be killed after being delivered alive via Cesarean section, a key point in her defense. Prosecutors had argued that the baby was born alive and subsequently killed, with hospital staff then falsifying records to indicate a stillbirth. Kwon's defense maintained she was misled by a broker into believing the baby would be stillborn.
While Kwon was acquitted of murder, the appeals court upheld the murder convictions of the two doctors involved. Their sentences were reduced: the surgeon's from four years to two-and-a-half years, and the hospital director's from six years to four. Both doctors had admitted to killing the baby during the initial trial.
The case gained public attention in 2024 when Kwon, in her 20s, posted a YouTube video detailing her attempt to terminate a pregnancy at 36 weeks. This led to a criminal complaint and an investigation. The trial was notable as the first instance of murder charges being brought against a woman for a late-stage pregnancy termination and the medical professionals involved.
South Korea decriminalized abortion in 2019, but the law lacks clear regulations regarding the gestational limits for the procedure. The Constitutional Court had recommended allowing abortions up to 22 weeks, but legislative amendments were stalled by conservative opposition. By the time the ban's removal took effect in 2021, no new legislation was in place, creating a legal vacuum.
Amnesty International Korea welcomed Kwon's acquittal but stated that the legal void leaves pregnant individuals without clear protections and access to reproductive healthcare. The organization urged the government to remove barriers to safe abortions and establish proper regulations for abortion services.
Kwon had previously testified that she learned of her pregnancy late and sought to terminate it due to financial instability and concerns about potential birth defects from alcohol and smoking during the pregnancy. The court had considered the lack of support for late-term pregnancies when initially sentencing Kwon, showing leniency.