decriminalization of abortion, triggering a dispute on the matter.
53. According to the latest fact-finding survey conducted by the Government, the
number of artificial abortion cases among women aged from 15 to 44 was
168,738 in 2010 (all the numbers are estimates as the Criminal Code prohibits
abortion 16 ). The most common reason for abortion was ‘unwanted pregnancy’
(50.7%). It was revealed that adequate sex education and implementation are
urgently needed seeing from the answers by the respondents; 43.9% of those
who underwent abortion stated that they used ‘menstrual cycle method’ and
42.2% of them used ‘coitus interruptus,’ also known as ‘pull-out method,’ both of
which are not considered as proper contraception options. In addition, the
reasons for not using contraceptives included, “I did not think I would get
pregnant” (52.8%) and “I knew about the options but my thoughts did not reach
for the actual use” (19.7%). Meanwhile, the survey showed that the majority of
the respondents underwent abortion within the 12 weeks of gestation (94%).
54. Two thirds of OECD member countries, 23 nations, allow artificial abortion at the
request of a pregnant woman, however, the Republic of Korea does not allow
abortions for the societal and economic reasons. The fact-finding survey in 2010
showed that 26.4% of women with the experience of abortion stated that they
did so because they were unmarried, and 19.9% of them stated that their
economic situation was the primary reason (unstable employment status and low
wages), both of which are social and economic reasons. As of June 2017, only
seven nations out of 35 OECD member countries do not allow artificial abortion
for the societal and economic reasons, and the Republic of Korea is one of
them17.
16 Son Myung-se et al. (2011),『National Survey on Trends of Induced Abortion』, Ministry of Health and
Welfare・Yonsei University
17 http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/2011abortion/2011wallchart.pdf Latvia, which joined OECD in 2016,
is also a country that allows induced abortion for social and economic reasons.