The director and operating doctor, accused of performing an abortion on a 36-week pregnant woman, admitted to the murder charges in their first trial.
The Seoul Central District Court’s Criminal Agreement Division 33 (Chief Judge Lee Jin-gwan) held the first trial today (18th) for the hospital director Yoon and the operating doctor Sim, who were charged with murder, along with the pregnant woman Kwon.
Yoon and Sim’s lawyers stated today that they “acknowledge all the charges.” Two brokers, who were also indicted for referring patients to the hospital, admitted to the charges as well.
On the other hand, Kwon, who underwent the abortion procedure, denied the charges, stating, “It is true that the procedure was requested for abortion, leading to the fetus’s death, but there was no conspiracy to commit murder,” and claimed, “I don’t know how the fetus died and there was no intent.”
The court noted that since most defendants acknowledged their charges, they would conclude the trial with a second hearing on November 13th.
Earlier, Yoon and Sim were accused of delivering a 36-week-old fetus by cesarean section in June last year and then killing it by placing it in a freezer.
Yoon reportedly falsely recorded “bleeding and abdominal pain” in Kwon’s medical records to make it appear as a stillbirth and even issued a false stillbirth certificate.
Investigations revealed that from August 2022 to July last year, Yoon received about 1.46 billion won for abortions after being introduced to 527 pregnant women through brokers over those two years.
[Photo Source: Yonhap News]
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