Korean woman, 29, wanted to terminate pregnancy at 36 weeks, had caesarean section & placed baby in freezer

A South Korean court has convicted a woman, 26, and two medical staff members of murder for killing the baby she had delivered.

The woman, Kwon, received a three-year suspended jail sentence, BBC reported, adding that the surgeon who operated on her and the hospital director were sentenced to four and six years' jail respectively.

BBC reported that Kwon supposedly wanted to terminate the pregnancy at 36 weeks, but according to prosecutors, the baby was born alive and later killed.

Baby died

Prior to this, Kwon, who was 34 to 36 weeks pregnant, underwent a caesarean section, according to chosun.com.

Prosecutors said that the baby was then reportedly placed in a freezer until the baby died.

In 2024, after Kwon posted a YouTube video about how she terminated her pregnancy at 36 weeks, it was said to have triggered public uproar and a criminal complaint from the health ministry, BBC reported.

Police subsequently launched an investigation into her and her doctor.

Prosecution

In January 2026, prosecutors previously sought a 10-year jail sentence for the hospital's director and six years' jail for both Kwon and the surgeon who operated on her.

This is because they argued that the baby died due to being placed in the freezer by the hospital's director and the surgeon.

According to prosecutors, hospital staff then falsified Kwon's medical records to make it seem as if she had a stillbirth.

The trial saw the hospital director and surgeon admitting to killing the baby, and they were taken into custody immediately after the judge read out the verdict.

Kwon was said to be among patients introduced to the hospital through brokers, and this saw the hospital allegedly receiving a total of 1.4 billion won (around S$1.2 million) to perform abortions on more than 500 patients, prosecutors said.

Kwon's lawyer

Kwon reportedly did not know that her baby would be killed after being removed from her womb, her lawyer argued.

She told the court that she had only learned of her pregnancy seven months in, and sought abortion because she had no stable income, adding that she feared the baby would be born with defects as she drank alcohol and smoked throughout her pregnancy.

Following this, on Mar. 4, 2026, the judge found that Kwon:

• Had been informed by medical staff that her baby was healthy
• Heard the baby's heartbeat via ultrasound
• Knew the baby would be born alive through Caesarean section

Abortion laws

The judge added that the legal vacuum surrounding abortions in South Korea was taken into consideration during Kwon's sentencing since she could not receive support to navigate her late-stage pregnancy.

This comes after the South Korean government previously drafted legislation permitting abortion up to 14 weeks, or up to 24 weeks in special cases, including health reasons or if the pregnancy was a result of rape.

However, that bill made no progress in parliament due to opposition from conservative lawmakers, after which the country had no legislation in place to regulate abortion when the ban's removal took effect in 2021.

Top photos via Chosun