The mother was sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for five years, by the Seoul Central District Court
Credit: Getty
NEED TO KNOW
- A South Korean woman and her two doctors were reportedly found guilty on Wednesday, March 4, of murdering her newborn baby
- The woman, identified as Kwon, gave birth to a fetus at 36 weeks before the doctors put the fetus into a freezer
- Kwon was sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for five years, while the hospital director received six years in prison and the operating surgeon received four years
A South Korean woman and her two doctors have reportedly been found guilty of murdering her newborn baby.
On Wednesday, March 4, the individual, who is in her 20s and only known by her surname Kwon, was sentenced to three years in prison, suspended for five years by the Seoul Central District Court, according to The Korea Times.
Prosecutors say Kwon wanted to end her pregnancy at 36 weeks but ended up delivering the fetus via cesarean, according to the BBC and The Korea Times.
The fetus was then placed in a freezer by the doctors, the BBC and The Korea Times reported.
Kwon’s two doctors were also found guilty of murder and accused of creating a false stillbirth certificate, per the outlets.
This came after Kwon shared a YouTube video in 2024 where she claimed she had an abortion at 36 weeks, according to the BBC and AFP, per CTV News.
After the video spurred public outcry, police launched an investigation.
PEOPLE reached out to the Supreme Court of Korea for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
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While the hospital director was sentenced to six years in prison, a 1.5 million won ($1,000) fine and a forfeiture order of 1.15 billion won, the operating surgeon was sentenced to four years, according to The Korea Times.
The hospital director had reportedly carried out 527 abortion procedures between August 2022 and July 2024, earning 1.46 billion won in fees.
The director and surgeon admitted to murdering the baby before being taken into custody after the verdict was read out, per the BBC.
While Kwon’s attorney claimed she didn’t know her baby would be killed after birth, the judge found that she knew her baby would be born alive, the outlet reported.
Meanwhile, Kwon said in court that it wasn’t until seven months of pregnancy when she realized she was pregnant. She also said she wanted an abortion due to not having a stable income, according to the BBC.
She added that she drank and smoked throughout her pregnancy, causing her to fear her baby would be born with defects.
Credit: Getty
The judge said they were being lenient to Kwon due to the lack of support she received during the end of her pregnancy.
An abortion ban was removed by South Korea's Constitutional Court in 2019, with the court advising that laws allow abortions up to 22 weeks, per the BBC.
While legislation was drafted by the government in 2020 that allowed abortions of up to 14 weeks and 24 weeks for special reasons, the bill was gridlocked in parliament following religious arguments.
Although the ban was lifted in 2021, there was no abortion law in place.
Kwon's lawyer argued that murder charges should not have been applied to his client, per The Korea Times.
“It is deeply regrettable that the court appears to assume that a desperate woman had a duty to research options such as giving birth and arranging adoption in advance,” the attorney said.
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