Prosecutors Indict YouTuber and Doctors Over '36-Week Pregnancy Termination'

Placed the Fetus in a Freezer After Cesarean Section
Prosecution Faces Punishment Gap Due to Constitutional Court's Ruling on Abortion Law

In connection with the YouTube video incident involving a '36-week pregnancy termination (abortion),' the mother who underwent the abortion, as well as the hospital director and the surgeon who performed the procedure, have been brought to trial.

On July 23, the Criminal Division 3 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (chief prosecutor Jung Hyun) indicted hospital director Yoon and surgeon Shim on charges including murder. Kwon, a YouTuber in her 20s who underwent the abortion, was indicted on murder charges, while two brokers who referred patients to the hospital were indicted without detention for violating the Medical Service Act.

According to the prosecution, Yoon and Shim performed a cesarean section on Kwon, who was 34 to 36 weeks pregnant, delivered the fetus, then covered the fetus with a pre-prepared surgical drape and placed it in a freezer, resulting in its death.

Yoon operated three inpatient rooms and one operating room, and from August 2022 to July of last year, received 527 patients through brokers and collected 1.46 billion won in surgical fees. Additionally, while performing surgery on Kwon, Yoon falsified medical records by writing statements such as 'bleeding and abdominal pain present' to make it appear as a stillbirth. After the abortion procedure on Kwon became a subject of controversy in the media in July of last year, Yoon is also accused of issuing a false stillbirth certificate.

In June of last year, Kwon uploaded a video to YouTube titled 'Total Surgery Cost 9 Million Won, 120 Hours of Hell.' When the video sparked controversy, the Ministry of Health and Welfare requested a police investigation in July of last year into both the YouTuber and the doctor who performed the abortion on the fetus.

Under current law, abortion after 24 weeks of pregnancy is illegal. However, since the Constitutional Court ruled in April 2019 that the criminal code's abortion ban was unconstitutional, the National Assembly has not passed new legislation, leaving a legal vacuum with no punishment provisions.

The prosecution believes that due to this legal gap, some obstetrics and gynecology hospitals and brokers are performing indiscriminate late-term abortions on fetuses near full term in exchange for large sums in surgical fees.