October 30, 2017 12:12
More than 200,000 people have signed an online petition on the website of Cheong Wa Dae to legalize abortion.
The presidential office is obliged to give a response to petitions that garner more than 200,000 signatures in a month.
The petition was posted on the website on Sept. 30 and had garnered 220,000 signatures by Sunday. The person who posted it said, "Unwanted pregnancies and children born from such pregnancies are a tragedy for both the mother, child and our country."
Under current laws, women who abort a fetus face up to a year in prison or a W2 million fine, and doctors who perform abortions can be jailed for two years (US$1=W1,131). A Cheong Wa Dae official said, "We will discuss what response to give and when."
It would be the second of its kind after Cheong Wa Dae last month responded to a petition to strengthen laws on juvenile crime, saying it would prefer to focus on prevention rather than tougher punishment.
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