Woman, hospital head face murder probe over late-term abortion revealed on YouTube

Police opened a case against a woman who posted a controversial video sharing her experience terminating a nine-month pregnancy, as well as against the head of the hospital where the abortion was allegedly performed, on allegations of murder.

A woman shows her bloated belly in a video where she details her experience of terminating a nine-month pregnancy. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

Police on Monday opened a case against a woman who posted a controversial video sharing her experience terminating a nine-month pregnancy, as well as against the head of the hospital where the abortion was allegedly performed, on allegations of murder.

During a press briefing on Monday, an official from the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency said that both the video poster and the hospital chief are under investigation for murder, believing that what the woman said in the video was "not fabricated."

In the video, posted on June 27, the woman claimed she had undergone an abortion at 36 weeks of pregnancy after discovering her pregnancy during a visit to a clinic for weight gain. According to the video title, the abortion cost 9 million won ($6,481). The video has since been deleted.

The woman has been identified as being in her twenties and living outside the greater Seoul area. The hospital where the abortion allegedly took place is located in the metropolitan area.

Police previously requested Google, which owns YouTube, to identify the video poster but were declined.

Both the woman’s residence and the hospital were raided by police between late last month and early this month. Medical records show that the nine-month-old fetus was deceased.

The woman who posted the video admitted to the abortion after being questioned twice, saying she found the hospital through an acquaintance, police said.

Under Korea's Mother and Child Health Act, abortions after 24 weeks are illegal, but offenders are not criminally punished following a 2019 Constitutional Court ruling.

In 2019, the court found that legal provisions punishing women for abortions violate constitutional values by infringing on pregnant women’s right to self-determination.

Due to the law’s ambiguity, the Ministry of Health and Welfare requested that police investigate the suspects for murder on July 12.

However, it is uncertain whether they can be charged with murder, as the Criminal Act states that such charges apply when a person kills a human being. According to previous rulings, fetuses are only recognized as human beings once labor commences.

The hospital is also accused of violating the Medical Service Act due to the absence of surveillance cameras in operating rooms.

CCTV cameras are required in operating rooms of hospitals performing surgeries on unconscious patients, such as those under anesthesia, following an amendment to the Medical Service Act that took effect in June last year.

Police are further investigating whether the hospital was involved in additional late-term abortions.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]