On the September 12 broadcast of SBS "Unanswered Questions", the program tracked the actual conditions of abortion businesses targeting women in advanced stages of pregnancy.
In June 2024, a 36-week pregnant woman in her late pregnancy, just a month before her due date, posted a vlog about undergoing an abortion procedure, causing a massive controversy. The incident, criticized as fetal murder, was revealed through police investigations to have taken place at an OB-GYN clinic in Incheon, where a woman in her 20s surnamed Kwon underwent the termination procedure.
The director of the clinic claimed that the fetus was already stillborn and that he performed an emergency cesarean section to deliver the baby from the mother. However, the operating surgeon, the anesthesiologist, and three nursing assistants who were in the operating room at the time all stated that they could not confirm the condition of the fetus and did not hear any crying sounds.
However, additional witness accounts emerged through the investigation, stating that Director Yoon placed the delivered infant in a black plastic bag and put it in a freezer. The fetus, left neglected in the freezer for over two weeks, was later sent to a crematorium via a cremation agency.
A shocking truth was revealed in a notebook discovered during the search and seizure of Director Yoon's clinic. It recorded that over a span of two years, a staggering 527 mothers had undergone abortion procedures, with a monetary amount written next to each mother's name. Furthermore, there were 110 mothers in advanced stages of pregnancy of 28 weeks or more, just like Ms. Kwon, and the fetuses for all of them were recorded as "stillborn".
Through reporting, the broadcast team was able to meet women who had been proposed abortion procedures by Director Yoon. It was revealed that Director Yoon suggested termination surgeries to mothers for various reasons.
Many of the parents who proceeded with the termination surgeries upon his suggestion heard the baby crying during the procedure, leaving them with lingering trauma.
Ultimately, the clinic director and the operating surgeon were arrested after a year. However, none of the clinic staff would answer questions regarding the incident.
The production team met Ms. Kwon, the 36-week pregnant woman at the center of the controversy. She confessed, "I could not believe there was a baby inside my stomach. At the time, I smoked and drank a lot, so I thought giving birth to the child would not be good for the baby either. I saw a promotional post saying procedures were possible regardless of the gestational age and contacted them. They said the procedure could only happen once the payment was deposited, and the amount they demanded back then was 9 million won. I did not think the baby would come out alive."
Kwon also revealed that the person she contacted was not the hospital side, but a broker who connected her with the clinic. It turned out the broker had told Kwon that the baby would come out stillborn.
Director Yoon has been running an OB-GYN clinic specializing in pregnancy terminations since 2016. Because he was over 80 years old and unable to perform surgeries himself, he regularly contacted an anesthesiologist and a surgeon named Shim who worked at a university hospital to carry out the operations. Consequently, the surgeries always took place during Dr. Shim's days off or after work hours.
Additionally, his clinic had a consultation manager specializing in pregnancy terminations, and it was revealed that there was also a cremation agency handling remains.
Reporting confirmed that many other clinics besides Director Yoon's were engaged in similar practices. A nurse who previously worked part-time at an abortion specialty clinic stated, "The baby was too big, so it was wrapped in a black plastic bag, frozen in the freezer, and disposed of along with medical waste, though there was someone who came to collect them professionally."
Moreover, there were multiple coordinators in charge of termination procedures, and their incentive bonuses were reportedly high. It was also revealed that separate websites advertising pregnancy termination clinics existed, with many hospitals paying money to place ads there. The production team easily found price lists created by hospitals on these websites.
Through an undercover investigation, it was confirmed that for a 31-week advanced pregnancy, they demanded a surgery fee of 15 million won, citing ethical issues that made the termination expensive. The consultation manager at the hospital drew attention by stating that same-day surgery was the rule, adding, "You can just think of it as the baby not breathing the moment it comes out."
The broadcast explained that the undercover investigation was decided upon to expose the reality that termination procedures are carried out solely based on the conscience and ethical awareness of medical specialists, rather than medical judgments or the fetus's viability.
Some point out that mothers who desperately want abortions are the starting point of the problem, but it was confirmed that among many individuals undergoing termination surgeries are underage mothers who found out about their pregnancy late and had nowhere else to turn for help. These individuals reportedly secure funds through illegal private loans or part-time jobs.
One teenage informant said she explored various ways to give birth, but ultimately decided on a termination procedure after concluding that it would be impossible to give birth to and raise a child alone.
Kwon stated that she initially thought people who watched the video would comfort her, but after the controversy, she realized her actions were wrong and felt remorse. She said, "If I could go back two years, I would not have had the surgery," adding that if even a single person had tried to persuade her and help her at the time, the outcome would have been different.
Expressing regret, an expert remarked about Kwon, "It seems she was emotionally unable to handle various aspects of childbirth. Many mothers go all the way to full term due to pregnancy concealment and pregnancy denial, and their judgment itself collapses in extreme traumatic situations. From a psychiatric perspective, it is an emergency situation."
The prosecution indicted mother Kwon on charges of murder. The second-instance appellate court ruled that there was no intent to murder and acquitted her on the murder charges, prompting the prosecution to appeal.
An expert pointed out that a one-line definition of the 36-week abortion vlog is "the greatest harm caused by a legislative void." They noted, "Because the state did not set clear standards, neither the fetus nor the woman was protected. If a law had been enacted, a 36-week fetus could not have been terminated."
With a 7-year legislative void following the abolition of the abortion law without appropriate alternatives being established, political circles have explained their stance by saying, "It is a controversial issue where social consensus is difficult to reach and a problem hard to compromise on due to various interests."
However, a legal expert raised voices of criticism, stating, "Saying that social consensus is difficult is an abstract excuse. There is no process of deliberation at all. Failing to advance deeper discussions is the responsibility of the state."
An OB-GYN specialist also emphasized, "The very reality that women's health and fetal safety are left outside the legal protection framework in our country is a very shameful reality. It must be improved somehow."
Finally, the broadcast stated that the program was produced with the hope that "cruel acts of ending the lives of fetuses that emerge into the world alive will not be repeated, that mothers contemplating abortion will not be unilaterally blamed as irresponsible, and that the lives and safety of mothers and fetuses will not be traded as lawless money-making means."
It drew attention by emphasizing that we must no longer postpone social consensus on medical-ethical and legal standards.
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.
(SBS Entertainment News | Kim Hyo-jung)