A South Korean YouTuber and two doctors have been indicted on murder charges after the YouTuber posted a video claiming to have had an abortion at 36 weeks. There are no laws prohibiting abortion in South Korea.
Key Takeaways:
- The South Korean YouTuber named Kwon post a video detailing what she claimed to be an abortion at 36 weeks.
- She allegedly underwent a c-section and the baby, who was born alive, was placed in a freezer.
- Kwon and two doctors have been indicted on murder charges.
- Prosecutors say hospital staff attempted to hide the child’s killing by falsifying Kwon’s medical records to make the baby’s death look like a stillbirth.
- The case has exposed a late-term abortion scheme involving brokers and hospitals that collected nearly 1.5 billion won (nearly $1.1M USD).
The Details:
A South Korean YouTuber known as “Kwon” and two other individuals have been indicted for murder in the death of a baby delivered alive at 36 weeks in what Kwon called a late abortion.
According to The Korea Herald, the Supreme Prosecutor’s Office said last week that it has indicted three people: Kwon, the hospital director Yoon, and surgeon Shim. In addition, two brokers who introduced women to the hospital for abortions were charged with violating the Medical Service Act, which exists to “ensure that people can enjoy benefits of high-quality medical treatment, thereby protecting and improving public health.” According to the Act, “medical personnel has the mission to improve public health….”
Prosecutors say that the baby was born alive through a c-section, put under a surgical drape, and then left in a freezer to die. Hospital staff allegedly tried to hide the child’s death by falsifying Kwon’s medical records to make it appear that the baby was stillborn, noting fake symptoms such as abdominal pain and bleeding.
The investigation into the baby’s death exposed an abortion scheme that is believed to have run from August 2022 through July 2023, in which the hospital is alleged to have committed over 500 abortions arranged through brokers, earning almost 1.5 billion won ($1.09 million USD).
This was not a typical late-term abortion, which is likely why all are being charged with murder.
The most common abortion procedure committed in the third trimester is an induction abortion, in which the abortionist injects the preborn baby with a fatal dose of potassium chloride or digoxin, in the hopes of stopping the baby’s heart. The abortionist then induces labor, so the mother gives birth to the body of her stillborn baby.
Prosecutors stated, “We will do our utmost to ensure that all profits obtained through this crime are fully confiscated, to send a strong message against such inhumane acts driven by financial gain and a disregard for life.”
The Backstory:
South Korean police began investigating Kwon in July 2024 at the request of the government, after she posted a video to YouTube documenting the so-called abortion.
Prior to 2019, most abortions were a crime in South Korea, and a doctor who committed one could be imprisoned for two years. Meanwhile, women who had abortions could face up to one year in prison. In 2019, the Constitutional court ruled that South Korea’s law protecting preborn babies from abortion was unconstitutional. But when the National Assembly failed to redefine the law, which the court said should put a limit of 22 weeks on abortion, all criminal provisions around abortion expired. Abortion with no limits was effectively legalized in the nation.
The Assembly still hasn’t enacted a new law regarding abortion; however, some jurisdictions have prohibited abortion after 24 weeks, except for when the mother’s health is at risk or the baby has a disability.
When the investigation into Kwon began, pro-abortion groups spoke out against the government for investigating women who have abortions.
“This is nothing short of a pathetic and serious attempt to evade responsibility and shift blame,” 11 pro-abortion organizations said in a statement. They want abortion classified as a “right of health,” according to the pro-abortion organization SHARE.
Cho Hee-kyoung, a law professor at Hongik University, doesn’t believe any abortion is illegal in South Korea, saying, “If there is no law criminalizing a conduct, then there is no crime for carrying out that conduct.”
However, Kwon’s baby died after birth, which sometimes happens during late-term abortions. What occurred was not an actual abortion procedure, but infanticide.
Why It Matters:
South Korea currently has no law in place regulating abortion. This case matters for every nation with legalized abortion, even the United States, where some states have made abortion a state constitutional right following the Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, overturning Roe v. Wade.
In nine states (and Washington, D.C.), there is no limit on when an abortion can be carried out.
In 2022, the bodies of five babies estimated to have been old enough to survive outside the womb were found in a medical waste box outside of Washington Surgi-Center, an abortion facility in D.C. They were to be taken from the abortion business by Curtis Bay Medical Waste Services to potentially be burned in the company’s incinerator.
Every abortion is the intentional killing of a human being. The South Korean doctors in this case saw no difference in ending the life of a child inside the womb or outside it. Pro-lifers agree — there is no difference. Both should be protected.
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