Approval of Abortion Within 14 Weeks... Women's Groups Demand "Complete Abolition"

Deliberation of 22 Bills Including Partial Amendment to Criminal Act and 25 Presidential Decrees at Cabinet Meeting

Women’s Groups Oppose, Announce Press Conference on 27th
Possibility of Full Abolition Proposal Discussion in National Assembly

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporters Kwangho Lee, Inkyung Jo, Hyunju Lee] The government has decided to maintain the criminalization of abortion but allow abortions within 14 weeks of pregnancy. This comes 1 year and 8 months after the Constitutional Court ruled the criminal abortion law unconstitutional. Women’s groups advocating for the complete abolition of the abortion law are expected to strongly oppose this decision.

On the 24th, the government held a Cabinet meeting at the Government Complex Seoul, chaired by Prime Minister Jeong Seyeon, where it deliberated and approved 22 bills including a partial amendment to the Criminal Act reflecting this decision, 25 presidential decrees including partial amendments to the Radio Waves Act enforcement decree, and 3 general agenda items.

Currently, the exceptional allowance for abortion is up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, but the amendment excludes abortion performed within 14 weeks from punishment. Abortions between 15 and 24 weeks will be conditionally permitted if they meet the existing grounds for pregnancy termination under the Maternal and Child Health Act or if there are social or economic reasons. Minors who find it difficult to obtain guardian consent may receive abortion procedures if they have a counseling confirmation certificate. This is identical to the content the Ministry of Justice announced for legislative notice last October. In April last year, the Constitutional Court ruled that the provisions in the Criminal Act punishing women who terminate pregnancies and doctors who perform abortions violate women’s right to self-determination and ordered the National Assembly to enact improved legislation within this year.

Women’s groups demanding the complete abolition of the abortion law are strongly opposing the decision. The Joint Action for the Abolition of Abortion Law for All plans to hold a press conference on the 27th. The group points out that maintaining the abortion law violates women’s right to self-determination and that adding social and economic reasons or mandatory counseling as conditions constitutes another form of punishment and permission, which is problematic. The ball is now in the National Assembly’s court. In the 21st National Assembly, two bills have been proposed that completely delete the abortion provisions from the Criminal Act and amend the Maternal and Child Health Act, differing from the government’s proposal. These are the bills by Kwon Insook of the Democratic Party and Lee Eunju of the Justice Party. If the government’s bill is submitted to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, it may conflict with these bills. When bills with the same content are submitted, all agenda items are reviewed competitively.

Meanwhile, at the Cabinet meeting, amendments to the State Public Officials Act and Local Public Officials Act were also approved to legally guarantee exemption from disciplinary action and preferential treatment in personnel matters for public officials who actively perform their duties. Additionally, an amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Game Industry Promotion Act was passed, doubling the prize price limit for arcade games such as claw machines from the current 5,000 won to 10,000 won. This measure aims to address the problem of counterfeit character products circulating due to the 5,000 won prize price limit for claw machines and similar games.

Furthermore, amendments to the Shipping Act were approved to prevent fraudulent receipt of fuel tax subsidies paid to domestic cargo transport operators and to strengthen information sharing among related agencies such as the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Korea Petroleum Management Service to establish transparent maritime fuel distribution procedures. A partial amendment to a special law was also approved to provide 100% compensation for damages to victims of the Pohang earthquake, with funding shared between the national government (80%) and local governments (20%).

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