[News Culture] SBS investigative program “Unanswered Questions” is returning to a controversial 2024 case involving a woman who underwent an abortion procedure at 36 weeks of pregnancy, this time examining evidence that investigators say may point to a much broader pattern of late-term procedures.
The Sept. 12 episode, titled “Murder Ward, 527 — The Secret Abortion Business,” draws on investigative records, medical testimony and documents seized from the clinic at the center of the case. The program also features the first televised interview with Kwon, the woman whose video of the procedure ignited nationwide controversy two years ago.
The case first drew public attention in June 2024, when Kwon, then in her 20s, posted a YouTube video documenting an abortion performed at approximately 36 weeks of pregnancy — roughly a month before a typical full-term delivery.
The director of the Incheon obstetrics clinic, identified by the surname Yoon, maintained that the fetus had already died before the procedure. According to his account, the operation was an emergency cesarean performed to remove a stillborn fetus whose cause of death was unknown.
Investigators, however, encountered questions surrounding both the procedure and what happened afterward. Five medical staff members were reportedly present in the operating room, including physicians and nursing assistants, but statements collected during the investigation did not establish that any of them had directly confirmed the fetus’s condition after delivery. Kwon was under anesthesia and said she did not see what happened.
The handling of the fetus became another focus of the investigation. Authorities obtained testimony alleging that it was placed in a black plastic bag and stored in a freezer at the clinic for more than two weeks before being transferred for cremation through an outside intermediary.
A notebook recovered during a police search significantly widened the scope of the case.
According to records examined by the program, the notebook contained the names of 527 patients who had undergone pregnancy-termination procedures over roughly two years, along with amounts of money recorded beside them. Of those cases, 110 reportedly involved pregnancies at 28 weeks or later.
The records also classified the fetuses in those cases as stillborn. “Unanswered Questions” examines what those entries represented, how the procedures were conducted and whether the documentation reflected routine medical practice or something requiring further scrutiny.
Rather than limiting the episode to the original viral video, the production follows the paper trail surrounding the clinic and the broader market for later-term pregnancy termination. The team also conducts undercover reporting into facilities said to offer such procedures, focusing on how prospective patients are approached, what services are discussed and how money changes hands.
Kwon’s interview adds another dimension to the investigation. Appearing on camera for the first time in connection with the case, she is expected to give her account of the circumstances surrounding the procedure and address questions that have persisted since the video became public.
The episode ultimately expands a case once centered on a single 36-week procedure into a larger examination of medical records, clinical practices and the handling of fetuses following later-term pregnancy terminations. The notebook marked “527” becomes the central thread connecting those questions.
SBS’s “Unanswered Questions” airs Saturday, Sept. 12 at 11:10 p.m. KST.
Reported by News Culture M.J._mj94070777@nc.press
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