SOUTH KOREA – Abortion reemerges as hot-button issue as ruling party eyes dormant bill

By Lee Hae-rin
Aug 8, 2025

Debate over the legalization of the abortion pill has come under renewed scrutiny in Korea, as lawmakers move to address the legal gray zone surrounding women's health that has persisted since the country’s Constitutional Court struck down the abortion ban six years ago.

On Wednesday, the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee convened a major forum on the issue. Participants included lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, with Rep. Nam In-soon, who recently proposed bills aimed at removing restrictions on both surgical and medical abortions and extending national health insurance coverage to these procedures.

Continued: https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/southkorea/society/20250808/abortion-reemerges-as-hot-button-issue-as-ruling-party-eyes-dormant-bill

08.08.2025

News

Choi Anna

Dr. Kim Hee-sun

Gangneung Medical Center

Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs

South Korea – Gov’t push with anti-abortion laws triggers opposition movement online

Posted : 2020-10-09
By Kim Se-jeong

The Korean government's current focus on abortion laws has triggered women here to launch an online movement under the hashtag #IHadAnAbortion.

"I had an abortion. Because it is a
crime in Korea, I never talked in public about how I dealt with my unwanted
pregnancy and what I had to endure after having the abortion. Now I will do so
without hesitation! #IHadAnAbortion" Lee Lang, an independent music singer-songwriter,
wrote on Twitter recently in Korean.

Continued: https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2020/10/113_297330.html

09.10.2020

Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs

South Korea – Abortion ban ruled unconstitutional; what should revisions be?

Abortion ban ruled unconstitutional; what should revisions be?

2019-04-21
By Bahk Eun-ji

After the Constitutional Court ruled last week that the country's 66-year-old abortion ban must be lifted, politicians face one of their toughest tasks in revising the relevant law: the legal limitations.

In its ruling, the court said banning abortion in the early stages of pregnancy was "an unconstitutional restriction that violates a woman's right to make her own decisions on personal matters."

Continued: https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2019/04/119_267438.html

Only for ‘naughty girls’: Stigma lingers after South Korea abortion ban overturned

Only for 'naughty girls': Stigma lingers after South Korea abortion ban overturned

by Beh Lih Yi
Thomson Reuters Foundation
Apr 19, 2019

KUALA LUMPUR - South Korea is set to legalize abortion after a decadeslong ban was struck down, but women’s rights campaigners have warned those who undergo the procedure will still be “punished in the eyes of society.”

In a landmark verdict last week, a South Korean court ruled the ban — which dates from 1953 — unconstitutional and asked the government to legalize abortion by the end of 2020.

Continued: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/04/19/asia-pacific/social-issues-asia-pacific/naughty-girls-stigma-lingers-south-korea-abortion-ban-overturned/#.XLn5YaR7lPY

South Korea – Debate on abortion ban intensifies as decision looms

Debate on abortion ban intensifies as decision looms

by Ock Hyun-ju
Published : Mar 31, 2019

When Hong Seung-hee, 28, discovered she was pregnant, she felt her world was falling apart.

She decided to terminate the unwanted pregnancy, even though it meant she would have to live as a criminal.

Going through an abortion was painful enough, but the stigma was worse, she said.

Continued: http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20190331000068