Park Jumin "Aiming to Completely Remove Abortion Crime from the Criminal Law"

Park Ju-min, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Young-eun] Park Jumin, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, emphasized on the 8th, "We will completely remove the crime of abortion from the Criminal Act," adding, "Many citizens have long demanded the decriminalization of abortion."

In a post on his Facebook on the same day, Park said, "Last August, the Ministry of Justice's Gender Equality Committee also recommended preparing a revision bill to abolish Chapter 27 (Crimes of Abortion) of the Criminal Act for the decriminalization of abortion."

He continued, "However, the Criminal Act amendment bill announced for legislative notice by the Ministry of Justice yesterday (the 7th) retains the current abortion crime provisions and only adds conditions for allowance, which could rather reinforce the crime of abortion."

He also pointed out, "This may completely ignore the demands of citizens wishing for the decriminalization of abortion, the Constitutional Court's decision, and the Ministry of Justice Gender Equality Committee's recommendations."

Park added, "We intend to delete all crimes of abortion from the Criminal Act. The guarantee of women's self-determination rights, procedures, and conditions for artificial pregnancy termination will be approached from a health perspective by revising and reflecting related provisions in the Maternal and Child Health Act." He further stated, "We are currently finalizing the collection of opinions from various sectors regarding the detailed contents of the Maternal and Child Health Act amendment bill, so it seems possible to propose the bill soon."

Earlier on the 7th, the government announced a legislative notice for amendments to the Criminal Act and the Maternal and Child Health Act, which maintain the current crime of abortion and allow abortion up to 14 weeks of pregnancy. This is a follow-up measure to the Constitutional Court's decision in April last year declaring the abortion crime provisions in the Criminal Act unconstitutional.

However, women's groups have opposed the idea that the state, not women, defines the right to self-determination regarding pregnancy, and voices continue to call for the state not to punish abortion under criminal law.

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