The Korean Criminal Code (1953) Abortion in South Korea was originally criminalized with the introduction of the
Korean Criminal Code (also known as The Penal Code in South Korea) in 1953, particularly because of Article 269 and 270 of the Criminal Code. Article 269 outlaws both
self-induced abortions by the pregnant woman herself and abortions performed by medical professionals with the pregnant woman's request or consent, stating criminal penalty for each condition. Article 270 specifically prohibits medical practitioners, licensed doctors or other medical professionals from performing abortions, even with the pregnant woman's request or consent. The Mother and Child Health Act requires spousal consent in for a pregnant woman to obtain a legal abortion based on these circumstances, which might create practical complications for women to obtain legal abortions. In 2009, legislators took a small step towards cracking down on abortions in South Korea by "removing certain diseases off the list justified for the use of legal abortions and revising the deadline for legal abortions to twenty-four weeks from conception instead of twenty-eight weeks." Much of the ensuing debate has focused on whether the government should crack down on illegal abortions, and whether the law should be modified. In September 2017, campaigners filed a petition on the website of
Moon Jae-in, the
President of South Korea, calling on the government to amend the law by permitting the sale of the abortion pill
mifepristone. The petition was signed by more than 235,000 people. In November 2017, the office of the president announced in response that the government would review the abortion law. In late 2018, a poll released by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs revealed that 75% of women aged 15 to 44 thought of abortion law as unfair and wanted it to be revised.
Constitutional Court ruling decriminalizing abortion (11 April 2019) In 2018, the
Constitutional Court heard a case which challenged the constitutionality of the abortion law. The court's ruling was delayed until court vacancies were filled. On 11 April 2019, seven out of nine judges in the Constitutional Court of Korea ruled that criminalizing abortion in South Korea is unconstitutional. The Court granted lawmakers until 31 December 2020, to revise the laws, until which time the provisions of the Korean Criminal Code would remain in effect. If legislators did not successfully revise the abortion law before this deadline, the provisions in the Korean Criminal Code that criminalize abortion in South Korea would become
null and void. Members of the National Assembly also proposed revisions. However, the National Assembly did not vote on any revisions by the deadline of 31 December 2020. At this point, Article 269 and 270 of the Criminal Code became null and void. == Abortion rate ==