SEOUL, September 16 (AJP) -South Korea will allow abortion pills to be prescribed as early as the first quarter of next year, seven years after the Constitutional Court ruled the country's abortion ban incompatible with the Constitution.
The medication would be approved for use within 63 days, or nine weeks, of pregnancy under a plan unveiled Wednesday by the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.
The drug is currently undergoing regulatory review, with authorities targeting distribution in the first quarter of 2027.
Doctors would directly prescribe and dispense the medication at medical institutions during the first two years after its introduction.
Authorities would then consider expanding access after reviewing side effects and other safety data. Whether the drug will be covered by national health insurance has yet to be decided.
The move comes after years of delay following the Constitutional Court's 2019 decision, which left South Korea with a prolonged legislative gap over abortion.
The government said bringing medication abortion into the formal medical system could help curb the black-market trade in abortion pills and reduce health risks from unverified drugs.
“It is already used in more than 100 countries around the world, and I believe its safety has been established over roughly 30 years,” said Democratic Party (DP) Rep. Seo Young-seok, a pharmacist-turned-lawmaker and member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee.
“I think this was an issue that kept being postponed because of the lack of social consensus," said Seo, a sponsor of related legislation.
Another sponsor, DP Rep. Kim Yoon, a physician and fellow member of the committee, said, “I think it would be appropriate to first introduce the drug and then pursue the necessary legal revisions together in the National Assembly."
AJP Takeaways
- South Korea plans to introduce abortion medication, including mifepristone, as early as the first quarter of 2027.
- DP lawmakers Seo Young-seok and Kim Yoon told AJP the drug’s safety is well established and urged swift introduction alongside legal revisions.
- The government plans to initially limit prescription and dispensing to medical institutions while monitoring safety and access.
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