Korea decriminalized abortion 7 years ago. For many women, it remains a dangerous choice.

The Hankyoreh reviewed years’ worth of court cases to understand how the failure to enshrine the right to abortion in law and normalize it as standard health care has affected Korean women who chose to terminate their pregnancies

April 13, 2026

Min-ji underwent two abortions while in a relationship with Young-ho in 2020 and 2021. The decision to terminate the pregnancies was reached by mutual consent. However, after the couple split, Young-ho changed drastically, going so far as to plaster Min-ji’s workplace with posters that accused her of being a “murderer who killed two children.”

After having an abortion in January 2022, Ye-eun refused to engage in sexual relations with her partner, Cheol-su, only for him to threaten to notify her family and her school of her past pregnancy.

Continued: https://www.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/1253991.html

South Korea – Seven years after abortion ban struck down, medication still blocked as ministries can’t agree

06 Mar. 2026

The introduction of abortion medication in Korea remains delayed amid disagreements among government ministries, even seven years after the Constitutional Court ruled the country’s abortion ban unconstitutional. Disputes over legal authority in particular have stalled discussions on allowing the drugs, according to Rep. Nam In-soon of the ruling Democratic Party.

The court struck down Korea's abortion ban in 2019 and ordered lawmakers to revise related laws, but the government and National Assembly have yet to establish a legal framework governing abortion procedures and medication.

Continued: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2026-03-06/national/socialAffairs/Seven-years-after-abortion-ban-struck-down-abortion-medication-still-blocked-as-ministries-cant-agree/2536559

06.03.2026

News

Amnesty International Korea

South Korea: Conviction of woman seeking abortion exposes government failure to guarantee access to vital healthcare

4 March 2026
Amnesty International

Responding to today’s conviction of a woman who had an abortion later in pregnancy, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director Sarah Brooks said:

“Abortion is essential healthcare and a human right under international human rights law and standards – it is not a crime. Today’s ruling highlights the impossible position pregnant people and medical providers are placed in due to the ongoing legal vacuum surrounding abortion in South Korea.

Continued: https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2026/03/south-korea-conviction-of-woman-seeking-abortion-exposes-government-failure-to-guarantee-access-to-vital-healthcare/

04.03.2026

Commentary

Amnesty International

Mother and Child Health Act

Korean court to rule on abortion case as legal void turns pregnancy termination into murder trial

01 Mar. 2026
KIM JU-YEON

In a country with no abortion law since 2021, a woman terminated a 36-week pregnancy and now faces a murder conviction. Civic groups are urging a Seoul court to find her not guilty as she awaits a verdict on Wednesday.

The incident began with a video uploaded in June 2024, in which the woman, surnamed Kwon, documented terminating her pregnancy at 36 weeks. Public shock and an online witch hunt followed. Kwon deleted the video, but the controversy escalated into a police investigation after the Ministry of Health and Welfare referred the case to authorities.

Continued: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2026-03-01/national/socialAffairs/Korean-court-to-rule-on-abortion-case-as-legal-void-turns-pregnancy-termination-into-murder-trial/2534121

01.03.2026

News

Center for Sexual Rights and Reproductive Justice

SOUTH KOREA – Prosecutors seek prison terms in 36-week abortion case

Jan. 27, 2026
Shin Ji-hye

Prosecutors have sought prison terms for a woman who underwent an abortion at around 36 weeks of pregnancy as well as for the doctor who performed the procedure and the hospital director involved, local media reported Monday.

At a hearing held Monday at the Seoul Central District Court, prosecutors requested a 10-year prison sentence for the 81-year-old hospital director surnamed Yoon, along with a fine of 5 million won ($3,456) and criminal forfeiture of 1.15 billion won. They sought six-year prison terms for the 26-year-old patient surnamed Kwon and for the doctor, 61, surnamed Shim. All three are charged with murder.

Continued: https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10663768

27.01.2026

News

Mother and Child Health Act

Seoul Central District Court

South Korea – Term limits debate slows abortion’s path out of legal limbo

Jan. 20, 2026
Lim Jae-seong

Debate is intensifying over abortion limits in South Korea, as lawmakers move to address a legal vacuum that has persisted since the Constitutional Court struck down the country’s abortion crime provision.

Although the court ruled that a blanket criminal ban was unconstitutional, the National Assembly has yet to pass follow-up legislation, leaving the practice decriminalized but largely unregulated for nearly seven years.

Continued: https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10659212

20.01.2026

News

abortion law reform

gestational limits

Mother and Child Health Act

Park Ju-min

South Korea Constitutional Court

Despite ban removal, women’s access to abortion pills faces legal void in Korea

21 Oct. 2025

Six years after Korea’s Constitutional Court struck down the country’s abortion ban, women seeking to end a pregnancy still face a legal void. The government has yet to approve abortion pills, and thousands are turning to the internet, where unverified drugs circulate in an expanding underground market.

Authorities uncovered 2,641 cases of illegal online sales of abortion medication since 2021, when the abortion ban lost effect, according to new data from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety submitted to Rep. Nam In-soon of the Democratic Party on Tuesday.

Continued: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-10-21/national/socialAffairs/Despite-ban-removal-womens-access-to-abortion-pills-faces-legal-void-in-Korea/2425241

21.10.2025

Ministry of Food and Drug Safety

4 out of 10 Koreans support abortion on demand: survey

Oct. 19, 2025
Yoon Min-sik

More than 40 percent of men and women in South Korea believe in women's right to get an abortion on demand, a recent survey showed Sunday.

The survey on 300 women and 102 men aged 15-49 showed that 44.6 percent of the female respondents and 44.1 percent of the male respondents said, "a woman should be able to get an abortion, based on her judgement and choice."

Continued: https://www.koreaherald.com/article/10596402

19.10.2025

News

abortion survey

Korean Society of Maternal and Child Health

public support for abortion

Asia

South Korea

Human Rights

Head of Korean human rights watchdog flip-flops on abortion rights ahead of GANHRI special review

After removing his name from last year’s statement, Ahn Chang-ho appears to have done a 180 on the issue only a month out from a special review by GANHRI

2025-09-29

Marking International Safe Abortion Day on Sunday, Ahn Chang-ho, the head of South Korea’s human rights watchdog, issued a statement saying that Korea can “no longer neglect the legislative vacuum regarding guarantees for the right to a safe abortion.”

The statement called for guarantees for abortion rights and for the country to make abortion pills available. But only a year earlier, Ahn called for his name to be removed from a press release making similar demands, raising suspicions about his sudden about-face.

Continued: https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/1221384.html

29.09.2025

News

abortion law reform

Ahn Chang-ho

International Safe Abortion Day

Nam Kyu-sun

National Human Rights Commission of Korea

SOUTH KOREA – Gov’t urged to establish safe abortion laws after six-year legal vacuum

28 Sep. 2025
YOON SO-YEON

Korea's human rights watchdog urged the government and parliament to end the ongoing six-year legal vacuum for safe and legal pregnancy termination in line with the International Safe Abortion Day, which falls every year on Sept. 28.

"The Constitutional Court ruled the old abortion law, which failed to balance between women's rights to her own body and the life of the fetus, as a violation of the Constitutional Law in April 2019, but the government and the National Assembly have still not established a new law to fill the vacancy," said the National Human Rights Commission of Korea on Sunday.

Continued: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2025-09-28/national/socialAffairs/Govt-urged-to-establish-safe-abortion-laws-after-sixyear-legal-vacuum/2409990

28.09.2025