SOUTH KOREA - A South Korean court has acquitted a woman previously convicted of murdering a baby she delivered in hospital; the latest twist in a case that has gripped the...

country and fueled debate about its murky abortion laws. The woman had wanted to terminate her pregnancy at 36 weeks, but prosecutors said the baby was born alive and later killed. The woman, identified only by her surname Kwon, was convicted of murder alongside two doctors in March. She was given a three-year suspended jail sentence. While the doctors' murder convictions were upheld, the appeals court reduced their jail sentences. The surgeon who operated on Kwon had his sentence reduced from four years to two-and-a-half years. The hospital's director, initially sentenced to six years in prison, had his jail term reduced to four. During the trial, both doctors admitted to killing the baby. This case came to light in 2024 after Kwon, who was in her 20s, posted a YouTube video about terminating her pregnancy at 36 weeks - just over eight months. The video triggered public uproar and a criminal complaint from the health ministry. Police then launched an investigation into her and her doctors. The trial against Kwon and her doctors marked the first time that murder charges had been pressed against a woman seeking late-stage termination of their pregnancy, as well as the doctors involved in the procedure. While abortions were decriminalized in South Korea 2019, there is no clear regulation on how far into pregnancy it can be carried out. (BBC)