The South Korean government has formally moved to introduce mifepristone, a pregnancy termination drug commonly known as Mifegyne, seven years after the Constitutional Court ruled that the country's abortion ban was unconstitutional. The government said it is proceeding with product approval procedures for the drug, which can be used within nine weeks of pregnancy, with a target launch as early as the first quarter of next year. For the first two years after introduction, physicians at medical institutions will prescribe and dispense the drug directly.
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said they reported the plan at the 14th National Policy Coordination Meeting held at the Government Complex Seoul on the 16th.
The plan was drawn up to address the regulatory vacuum that has persisted since the Constitutional Court's 2019 ruling that the criminal abortion provisions were unconstitutional. Discussions gained momentum after President Lee Jae-myung instructed officials in July to review the possibility of permitting pregnancy termination drugs.
Under the plan announced by the government, mifepristone will be used only in early pregnancy, within nine weeks. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said it will thoroughly review the approval application materials, including the drug's risk management plan.
"This is significant in that it improves a situation in which there was no substantive state management system after the abolition of the criminal abortion provisions, and allows pregnancy termination to be carried out more safely within the national medical system," Gender Equality and Family Minister Won Min-kyung said. "It will also ease the burden on women who face socioeconomic circumstances that leave them with no choice but to terminate a pregnancy."
