A Seoul court on Wednesday sentenced an obstetrician to six years in prison for performing a cesarean on a 36-week pregnant woman and killing the baby, amid a lack of legal provisions to regulate abortions.
The Seoul Central District Court found the 81-year-old hospital director, identified only by his surname Yoon, guilty of murder for killing the baby after conducting a caesarean section.
The operating surgeon, identified as Shim, 62, was sentenced to four years in prison.
The mother, a 26-year-old woman surnamed Kwon, received a three-year prison sentence suspended for five years, along with 200 hours of community service.
Two brokers charged with violating the Medical Service Act were each sentenced to prison terms of one year and 10 months, both suspended for two years.
Prosecutors said Yoon and Shim conducted a cesarean section on Kwon in June 2024. They then covered the newborn with a pre-prepared surgical cloth and placed the baby in a freezer, killing the infant.
Yoon was also found to have falsified Kwon’s medical records by writing that she was experiencing “bleeding and abdominal pain,” to make it appear that the fetus was stillborn. He later issued a fabricated stillbirth certificate after the procedure drew public scrutiny.
Investigators found that Yoon, struggling to keep his hospital afloat, began performing illegal late-term terminations as a source of income.
Between August 2022 and July 2024, he operated three inpatient rooms and one operating room dedicated solely to abortions. Shim received tens of thousands of won per procedure for performing the surgeries.
The case came to light after Kwon posted a YouTube video titled “9 million won in surgery fees, 120 hours of hell,” showing her the process, which prompted public outrage. In July 2024, the Ministry of Health and Welfare referred the YouTuber and the doctors involved to the police for investigation.
Under current medical guidelines, abortions beyond 24 weeks are considered illegal, but the lack of legislative action following the Constitutional Court ruling striking down the criminal ban on abortion in 2019 has left enforcement unclear.
The case has renewed public debate over Korea’s abortion law. The Constitutional Court struck down the complete ban that was in place, but the National Assembly has failed to pass follow-up legislation more than six years on.
jychoi@heraldcorp.com
