As President Lee Jae-myung ordered a review of introducing mifepristone (abortion pill) on the 14th, Park Yong-jin, vice chairman of the Presidential Committee on Regulatory Rationalization, called it "a big step toward guaranteeing citizens' health rights."
Park explained via Facebook that day, "During today's Cabinet meeting, President Lee mentioned that the introduction of mifepristone should be reviewed," adding, "The direction is that measures should first be prepared to allow the safe use of abortion medication even before related laws are revised." He stressed, "I too raised the same point at the first plenary meeting of the Regulatory Rationalization Committee last April," noting that "the introduction of abortion medication and institutional improvement is one of the Lee Jae-myung administration's national agenda items."
Citing a World Health Organization (WHO) study, he said, "Restricting abortion does not reduce abortion rates but rather only increases unsafe abortions," adding, "Mifepristone is an essential medicine designated by the WHO and is currently legally prescribed in more than 100 countries." He also pointed out, "It has already been seven years since the Constitutional Court's ruling that the abortion ban was unconstitutional, but no follow-up legislation has been enacted," and "The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety has also delayed introducing mifepristone, citing the absence of clear legal standards."
Park said, "Such passive administration ultimately produced the side effect of expanding the illegal mifepristone market," noting, "From 2021 through August this year, there were 2,641 cases of online illegal sales detected alone." He then stated, "Now we must discuss more active introduction, such as easing administrative regulations or establishing separate approval procedures," adding, "There are also ample overseas precedents regarding permitted gestational weeks and prescription methods."
In particular, he stressed, "I deeply sympathize with President Lee's remark that 'the government evades responsibility while citizens alone are put at risk, left outside the law,'" adding, "Taking care of citizens' health rights, neglected for seven years due to the political sphere's irresponsibility and inter-ministry buck-passing, is the very beginning of active administration."
Earlier, President Lee said regarding mifepristone at the Cabinet meeting that day, "Even if there is some difficulty for the government, it should be made possible to administer it appropriately; I think it is irresponsible for the government to leave things as they are now," adding, "Isn't it enough to use the drug safely even before the Mother and Child Health Act is revised?"
