Prosecutors have requested prison sentences of six years and four years, respectively, for a hospital director and an attending physician charged with delivering a 36-week-old fetus via cesarean section and subsequently killing it.
During the appellate trial's final hearing held on June 23 at the Seoul High Court (presided over by Judge Kim Yong-seok), the prosecution asked the court to impose these sentences on the hospital director, identified by the surname Yoon, and the physician for charges including murder.
For the mother, identified by the surname Kwon, who was indicted alongside them, prosecutors requested a three-year prison sentence suspended for five years.
The sentences requested by the prosecution in the appellate trial are identical to those handed down in the first trial.
In his closing argument, Yoon's defense attorney claimed, "Abortion is the result of a complex accumulation of the parents' physical, mental, social, and economic circumstances," adding, "This case should be judged differently from typical murder cases."
In his final statement, the hospital director, Yoon, pleaded for leniency, saying, "I bow my head in apology before the life that could not see the light of the world because of me. Please allow me to spend the rest of my life atoning for my sins without shame before my conscience."
The mother, Kwon, stated, "I am sorry to the child who left due to my wrong choice, and I apologize for causing social controversy."
The appellate court's ruling is scheduled for July 23.
Yoon and the attending physician are accused of performing a cesarean section on Kwon, who was 34 to 36 weeks pregnant, in June 2024, and then killing the newborn by covering it with a cloth and placing it in a freezer.
Investigations revealed that Yoon had been admitting only abortion patients referred by brokers to generate revenue as his hospital faced financial difficulties.
The prosecution estimated that through this method, Yoon received a total of 527 patients over two years, from August 2022 to July 2024, and collected 1.46 billion won in surgical fees.
The investigation into this case began after the Ministry of Health and Welfare filed a complaint with the police in July 2024, following public controversy over a video of her abortion experience that Kwon had uploaded to YouTube.
(Photo: Yonhap News)