South Korea is about to let women legally buy an abortion pill for the first time in the country’s history, seven years after its top court struck down the criminal ban on abortion.
Story Snapshot
- South Korea plans to approve the abortion pill Mifegyne, targeting a first-quarter 2027 launch.
- The drug will only be available by prescription to women up to nine weeks pregnant, and only through hospitals or clinics.
- The rollout follows a 2019 Constitutional Court ruling that struck down the criminal abortion ban, but lawmakers never passed a replacement law.
- Drugmaker Hyundai Pharmaceutical has tried three times since 2021 to get approval, with the government now reviewing the application without requiring a separate clinical trial in Korean patients.
Government Sets a Firm Timeline After Years of Delay
Won Min-kyong, South Korea’s Minister of Gender Equality and Family, announced this week that women up to nine weeks pregnant could get the pill with a prescription. She said the first phase, starting in early 2027, will run for at least two years. The Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and her ministry jointly announced the plan at a briefing in Seoul.
For two years after launch, doctors will only prescribe and hand out the pills directly at major hospitals and clinics, not through pharmacies. Officials say this limited setup lets them watch closely for safety problems before expanding access. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety says it still must finish reviewing the application before final approval is locked in.
A Drugmaker’s Third Try Finally Gets Traction
Hyundai Pharmaceutical filed its latest bid to import the combination drug, known widely as Mifegyne, in December 2024. The company had tried twice before, in 2021 and 2023, but pulled back both times over paperwork issues. Regulators now plan to review the drug for approval without requiring a separate clinical trial on Korean patients, since it has already been used abroad for decades across many different populations.
The government believes skipping a new domestic trial will speed up the process without cutting corners on safety, since the drug’s track record overseas is well documented. Officials have not set a hard date for final sign-off, but they say the underlying safety data review is the last major step before the planned first-quarter 2027 launch.
Seven Years of Legal Limbo Finally Ends
South Korea’s Constitutional Court ruled in April 2019 that the country’s abortion ban was unconstitutional. Lawmakers were supposed to write new rules by the end of 2020, but they never did. The criminal penalty for abortion quietly expired in 2021, leaving the procedure legal in practice but with no clear system for medication, prescriptions, or oversight.
That gap left doctors, patients, and regulators guessing for years about what was actually allowed. The Ministry of Government Legislation issued an interpretation last month stating that abortion pills can be approved even without a full legislative overhaul, clearing the path for the current plan. That legal opinion appears to be the key unlock that let three ministries move together this month.
Reaction From Churches and Open Questions on Minors
Protestant and Catholic groups in South Korea have publicly opposed the plan, and some doctors have raised concerns about how the rollout will work in practice. This kind of pushback is expected in a country where the abortion debate has simmered, unresolved, for nearly a decade since the court ruling.
S Korea nears approval of abortion pill
South Korea could allow the use of the abortion pill Mifegyne as early as this year, as the government nears the end of its approval review.https://t.co/nMwWcMt9AD— The Asian Feminist / @theasianfeminist.bsky.social (@theasianfmnst) September 16, 2026
One detail regulators have not finalized is whether minors will need parental consent before getting a prescription. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety says that question is still under review even as the broader nine-week framework moves forward. Expect that piece to draw the most political attention as the first-quarter 2027 target approaches.
For American readers watching from a country locked in its own abortion fights, South Korea’s path offers a clear lesson. A court ruling without follow-up legislation does not settle anything. It just moves the fight from courtrooms into ministries, hospitals, and pharmacy counters for years afterward.
Sources:
time.com, en.sedaily.com, thestar.com.my, biz.chosun.com, news.sbs.co.kr
