South Korea to Consider Phased Introduction of Abortion Pills
The government will discuss allowing abortion pills for pregnancies of up to nine weeks, beginning with hospital-only prescribing and dispensing before a possible transition to pharmacy access.
South Korea will consider a phased system for introducing abortion pills for women up to nine weeks pregnant, Prime Minister Han Seong-sook said Wednesday, as the government seeks to address a long-running gap in the country’s reproductive health regulations.
Speaking at a government policy coordination meeting, Han said the absence of an updated legal and institutional framework has pushed some women toward unsafe or unverified methods. She described the unresolved situation as a matter of public health and safety that the government could no longer leave unattended.
Under the approach outlined by the prime minister, abortion medication would initially be prescribed and dispensed directly by hospitals. That hospital-based model would remain in place for the first two years, allowing treatment to be managed within a closely supervised medical setting. If the necessary safeguards and operating conditions are established, the system could later move to a model in which doctors issue prescriptions and pharmacies dispense the medication.
Han emphasized that safety would be the government’s priority as officials review the proposal. The goal, she said, is to ensure that women who need care can receive it through the medical system rather than relying on products or methods that have not been verified.
The proposed nine-week limit and phased rollout mark a more concrete policy direction in a debate that has remained unsettled for years. South Korea’s Constitutional Court ruled in 2019 that the country’s abortion ban was unconstitutional, but related legislation and regulations have not been fully revised. That has left uncertainty over the rules governing medication-based abortion and the responsibilities of medical providers.
The government’s review is therefore expected to involve both clinical safeguards and the legal structure needed for prescribing, dispensing and follow-up care. The initial hospital-only period would place doctors and medical institutions at the center of implementation while authorities assess whether the system can safely expand to pharmacies.
Han also acknowledged concerns centered on the value of life. She said the measure should be understood as an effort to protect health, not as an attempt to encourage abortion. Her remarks frame the plan as a response to an existing safety problem while signaling that the government intends to weigh ethical concerns during further discussions.
No final implementation date was announced. The next stage will be government deliberation over how the phased system would operate and what conditions must be met before access could broaden beyond hospitals.