'36-Week Abortion' Mother Acquitted on Appeal... Hospital Director and Surgeon Receive Reduced Sentences

"She Only Believed the Fetus Would Be Stillborn"

A mother who aborted a fetus at 36 weeks and was found guilty as an accomplice to murder at the first trial was acquitted at the appeals court. The hospital director and the operating surgeon, who were charged with performing a cesarean section to deliver the fetus and then killing it, received reduced sentences.

Screenshot of pregnant woman Kwon Mo's abortion vlog YouTube video

The 5th Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Kim Yong-seok) on July 23 sentenced hospital director Yoon to four years in prison, a fine of 1.5 million won, and the forfeiture of 9 million won, on charges including murder. Shim, the doctor who performed the surgery, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison. Previously, the first trial had sentenced Yoon to six years in prison and Shim to four years in prison, respectively.

Kwon, the mother who had received a three-year prison sentence suspended for five years at the first trial, was acquitted.

Two brokers, including Han, who introduced abortion patients to Yoon and received brokerage fees, were both sentenced to suspended prison terms.

The appeals court, like the first trial, found Yoon and Shim guilty of performing a cesarean section on Kwon, who was 34 to 36 weeks pregnant in June 2024, delivering the fetus, covering the fetus with a surgical drape, and placing it in a freezer to kill it.

However, the court overturned the first trial's judgment that the mother Kwon had at least indirect intent to commit murder. The court found that, at the time of the incident, Kwon only knew that the fetus would be expelled as a stillbirth from her womb, and that she was unaware the doctors would kill a live fetus delivered outside her body.

The appeals court stated, "Kwon asked the brokers to check with the medical staff whether the baby was stillborn, and the broker replied that it was," adding, "There is no evidence Kwon knew this was simply a statement made by a broker without medical knowledge, without actually inquiring with the medical staff."

The court also found it difficult to accept that Kwon, by posting about her surgical recovery on YouTube, did so knowing the fetus would be intentionally killed after delivery.

As for Yoon and Shim, the court stated, "It is hard to imagine the fear the victim must have experienced in a struggle for life upon being born, and killing a person, which violates the absolute value of human life, can never be justified for any reason."

However, the court explained, "A pregnant woman's right to decide whether to continue her pregnancy derives from the general right to personal autonomy guaranteed by the Constitution," and "the fact that the crime stemmed from the mother's intention to terminate the pregnancy was taken into consideration in sentencing."

Investigations revealed that after performing the cesarean section on Kwon, who was 34 to 36 weeks pregnant in June 2024, Yoon and Shim covered the fetus with a surgical drape they had prepared in advance and placed it in a freezer, killing it. Subsequently, they falsified the medical records to state that the mother suffered 'bleeding and abdominal pain' and manipulated the records to make it appear the fetus was stillborn. When the surgery became known, they even issued a false certificate of stillbirth for the fetus.

This incident came to light when Kwon posted a video titled "Total surgery cost 9 million won, 120 hours of hell" on her own YouTube channel. As the issue gained public attention, the Ministry of Health and Welfare in July 2024 requested a police investigation into Kwon and the doctors who aborted the fetus.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.