The Ministry of Justice in South Korea has signalled that it plans to introduce a bill legalising abortion up to 24 weeks, establishing abortion on demand in the country.

At this current time, abortion in South Korea is only allowed in the limited circumstances of rape, incest and danger to the mother.

Although the Korean Ministry of Justice seeks to introduce abortion up to 14 weeks in “extenuating medical or economic circumstances”, it is understood that the limit could be as extreme as 24 weeks, and that the Bill would essentially enact abortion on demand.

Abortion in South Korea is already a controversial issue, with the country’s Supreme Court upholding the current abortion law as constitutional in 2012, yet declaring it unconstitutional in 2019. Following the latter declaration, the Court ordered the government to amend the law by the end of 2020, when the current law will become defunct.

The 2019 decision was brought about when an obstetrician who was charged with illegally performing 69 abortions, which carries a prison sentence of up to two years, challenged the current law.

SPUC comment

A SPUC spokesperson said: “This move by the Korean Ministry of Justice has nothing to do with justice for women and unborn children.

“Allowing medical professionals free reign to perform an untold number of abortions will only lead to an increased number of abortions year by year, as we have seen in every developed nation where abortion has been legalised, including in the UK, where 209,519 unborn children were aborted in England and Wales in 2019 alone.”

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