Indictment of SNU ob-gyn professor sparks fears of obstetrics decline in Korea

A Seoul National University College of Medicine obstetrics and gynecology professor was recently indicted without detention in a case in which a baby delivered vaginally several years ago was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

Last Friday, the obstetrics and gynecology community strongly condemned the move, warning it would “spell the extinction of obstetrics in Korea.”

The Korean Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Korean Society of Maternal Fetal Medicine issued a joint statement titled “Criminal Indictment Without Detention of Seoul National University Obstetrics and Gynecology Professor for Childbirth-Related Medical Accident.”

The case involves a professor, identified only as Professor A, who was indicted without detention on Aug. 26 over a childbirth-related medical accident. The incident arose after a baby delivered vaginally by the professor was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy.

The two societies stressed that cerebral palsy occurs in about two cases per 1,000 live births for various reasons, with only around 5 percent directly attributable to the labor process itself. They warned that Professor A’s indictment signals the beginning of the extinction of obstetrics in Korea and could be an irreversible disaster for the country’s already strained maternal and child healthcare system.

They emphasized that childbirth is inherently risky and that even with the utmost care from medical professionals, complications such as maternal or neonatal death or cerebral palsy can occur. In major developed countries, they noted, criminal prosecution of physicians for unavoidable injuries or simple negligence during delivery is extremely rare.

The groups also pointed out that in Korea, 21 of the nation’s 40 medical schools either lack obstetrics and gynecology professors entirely or have only one or two, resulting in inadequate obstetrics education. In this fragile situation, they warned, prosecuting doctors for following established procedures will accelerate the decline of the field, leading to an exodus of professors, disruption of high-risk deliveries, and serious harm to mothers, babies, and families.

“Cases where childbirth-related incidents lead to criminal prosecution, as seen in our country, are rare. This threatens the foundation of obstetric care that sustains essential medical services, making proactive improvement urgently needed,” said Kim Young-tae, chairman of the Korean Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Park Joong-shin, president of the Korean Society of Maternal Fetal Medicine, added, “Despite the global surge in cesarean sections following the adoption of fetal heart rate monitoring during labor, the incidence of cerebral palsy has not decreased over the past 40 years. There is already sufficient medical evidence indicating that cerebral palsy is largely related to the prolonged intrauterine environment during pregnancy—about 7,000 hours—rather than the few hours of labor.”

Park concluded, “This indictment will go down in history as a grave mistake that unnecessarily increases Korea’s cesarean section rate and undermines the efforts of medical staff striving to facilitate natural childbirth under difficult conditions.”