Court of Korea ruled that criminalizing abortion in South Korea is unconstitutional. The Court granted lawmakers until December 31, 2020, to revise the laws, until which time the provisions of the Korean Criminal Code would remain in effect. If legislators did not successfully revise the abortion law before this deadline, the provisions in the Korean Criminal Code that criminalize abortion in South Korea would become null and void. In October 2020, the government announced draft legislation that would decriminalize abortion until the 14th week of the pregnancy. In addition, abortions between the 14th and 24th week would be permitted if the pregnancy was due to rape or for social, economic, or health reasons. Members of the National Assembly also proposed revisions. However, the National Assembly did not vote on any revisions by the deadline of 31 December 2020. At this point, Article 269 and 270 of the Criminal Code became null and void. Abortion rate Using a 2005 survey of 25 hospitals and 176 private clinics, one study estimated that 342,433 induced abortions were performed that year (about 330,000 of them illegal), which would imply an abortion rate of 29.8 abortions per 1000 women aged 15–44. The rate was higher among single women than among married women. The Ministry of Health and Welfare estimated that 169,000 induced abortions were performed in 2010. Other researchers, including Park Myung-bae of Pai Chai University, estimate that there may be as many as 500,000 or 1 million abortions per year. According to more recent estimates by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, the number of abortions performed per year was estimated to have declined to 32,063 in 2020. References External links Health law in South Korea South Korea South Korea Women's rights in South Korea Birth control in South Korea