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

SOUTH KOREA – Debate reignites in South Korea over legalisation of abortion pills

Sep 03, 2025

SEOUL - South Korea’s Constitutional Court declared the criminalisation of pregnancy termination unconstitutional in 2019, but the country remains mired in legal and medical limbo, leaving women to deal with uncertainty, stigma and unsafe alternatives.

Without follow-up legislation to regulate and guarantee safe access, women seeking abortions are forced into what advocates call a “blind spot”.

Hospitals often refuse to perform procedures without clear legal guidelines. Women are then left to scour online forums or underground markets to buy smuggled drugs at exorbitant prices, raising risks of counterfeit pills and severe health complications.

Continued: https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/debate-reignites-in-south-korea-over-legalisation-of-abortion-pills

03.09.2025

Maternal and Child Health Act

National Human Rights Commission of Korea

South Korea Constitutional Court

South Korea – She claimed she aborted her baby at nine months. In this country, there’s no law against that

By Lex Harvey and Gawon Bae, CNN
Fri September 20, 2024

A South Korean vlogger who claimed to have terminated her pregnancy at 36 weeks is being investigated for murder in a case that’s prompted horror in South Korea and raised urgent questions about why the country has no abortion laws.

Seoul National Police began investigating the woman in July at the request of the South Korean government, after she posted a video to YouTube purportedly documenting her experience of getting an abortion, police told CNN.

Continued: https://edition.cnn.com/2024/09/20/asia/south-korea-abortion-youtube-video-intl-hnk/index.html

20.09.2024

South Korea Constitutional Court

Susanné Seong-eun Bergsten

‘No update since 2019’: Korea’s inaction on abortion issue leaves women in limbo

July 7, 2024

It was November 2021 when Kim, a woman in her 30s living in one of the seven largest cities in Korea, terminated her pregnancy at four weeks. She first took pills that she does not remember the name of after being prescribed them at a nearby hospital, but she ended up revisiting a gynecology doctor she had been seeing for a long time after the pills didn’t work.

“I asked for an operation and the doctor suddenly turned cold, so I had to look for another hospital,” she said. “She only told me to come back with ‘a guardian,’ and I didn’t get the information that I needed about the operation. I regretted having gone to such a doctor for so long.”

Continued: https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/2024-07-07/culture/features/No-update-since-2019-Koreas-inaction-on-abortion-issue-leaves-women-in-limbo-/2084041

South Korea’s Abortion Dilemma: Legal Ambiguity Leaves Women in Limbo

By Md. Imran Wahab
March 10, 2024

The intricate predicament surrounding abortion in South Korea results from a multitude of factors involving law, politics, society, and ethics. While the Constitutional Court's decision in 2019 to declare the criminalization of abortion as unconstitutional was a noteworthy advancement for women's reproductive rights, it also recognized the importance of decriminalizing abortion and upholding women's control over their bodies. Nonetheless, the absence of concrete legislative changes following this ruling has left the legality of abortion in a state of ambiguity, causing confusion and moral quandaries for women seeking abortion procedures.

In South Korea, the issue of abortion is a complex and uncertain one, causing difficulties for women like 33-year-old Kim. Despite not wanting to get married or become a mother, Kim found herself unexpectedly pregnant and turned to the internet for information on abortion. However, the advertisements she found varied in price and she was unsure of the legal status of the procedure.

Continued: https://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-15359-south-korea-s-abortion-dilemma-legal-ambiguity-leaves-women-in-limbo.html

10.03.2024

Commentary

Imran Wahab

National Health Insurance Service

South Korea Constitutional Court

South Korea Criminal Act

Abortion in S. Korea: neither illegal nor legal

Despite 2019 Constitutional Court order, revision of abortion laws remains pending in National Assembly

By Lee Jaeeun
March 7, 2024

A 33-year-old woman surnamed Kim, living in Seoul, was taken by surprise when she found out she was pregnant late last year.

With no intention of getting married or having a child on her own, she began searching for hospitals that would terminate the pregnancy for her. While searching online, Kim encountered numerous advertisements and blogs listing prices for abortions by vacuum aspiration. The prices varied according to the stage of pregnancy: 600,000 won ($450) before week 7 and 900,000 won before week 10.

Continued: https://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20240307050821

South Korea’s Constitutional Right to Abortion

Activists Fought Hard for Change

Lina Yoon, Senior Researcher, Asia Division
June 9, 2022

Abortion was decriminalized in South Korea by court order in 2021, and millions of women breathed sighs of relief.

In April 2019, South Korea’s Constitutional Court had ruled that making abortion a criminal offense was unconstitutional and ordered the legislature to revise the laws by the end of 2020. The judges said women and girls should have up to 22 weeks into their pregnancy to allow “sufficient time to make and carry out a holistic decision.”

Continued: https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/06/09/south-koreas-constitutional-right-abortion

09.06.2022

Featured

News

Human Rights Watch

South Korea abortion law

South Korea Constitutional Court

South Koria – Cardinal Yeom Soo-jung Raises Concerns over Delayed Revisions to Anti-Abortion Law

2020-12-28

Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung submitted a statement to National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug on Monday, raising concerns over a delay in parliamentary revisions to the country's anti-abortion law.

The Constitutional Court decided last year that an outright ban on abortion goes against the Constitution, calling for legal amendments by the end of this year to partially allow abortions in the early stages of pregnancy.

Continued: http://world.kbs.co.kr/service/news_view.htm?lang=e&Seq_Code=158555

28.12.2020

News

abortion law reform

Cardinal Yeom Soo-jung

Park Byeong-seug

South Korea abortion law

South Korea Constitutional Court

South Korea’s abortion law revision plan sparks controversy

Conservatives and religious groups are facing off with women's rights organizations in a fierce debate over changes to a 1953 law that makes abortion illegal.

13.10.2020
Julian Ryall

The South Korean government has announced plans to reverse the blanket ban on abortions that was imposed in 1953 and revise the law to permit a termination before the 14th week of a pregnancy. The proposed changes have been strongly criticized by both sides of the argument.

Last week, the government announced that it will alter sections of both the Criminal Act and the Mother and Child Health Act that refer to abortion. The changes will also allow abortions up to a maximum of 24 weeks for women with extenuating medical or economic circumstances, if a genetic disorder is identified in the baby or if they have been the victim of a rape.

Continued: https://www.dw.com/en/south-korea-abortion-controversy/a-55253968

South Korea – Progressive groups, women oppose ‘regressive’ abortion bill

By Park Han-na
Published : Oct 11, 2020

Controversy has intensified over the government’s bill to allow abortion until the 14th week of pregnancy, as progressive groups say the new law would remain in violation of women’s rights and the Constitution.

As a follow-up to the Constitutional Court‘s landmark ruling last year to revise the ban on abortion, the government unveiled its plan on Oct. 7 to press no criminal charges against those who have an abortion until the 14th week of pregnancy.

Continued: http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20201011000182

11.10.2020