This image from a YouTube video shows a woman who recently underwent an abortion procedure at 36 weeks. Legal challenges are emerging for police as they investigate the woman and her abortion doctor on suspicion of murdering a nine-month-old fetus during a medical procedure to end her pregnancy. Screenshot from YouTube

Fresh legal challenges are emerging for police as they investigate a woman and her abortion doctor on suspicion of murdering a nine-month-old fetus during a medical procedure to end the pregnancy.

According to police on Monday, the remains of the fetus were cremated by the doctor, who asserts that the fetus was already deceased inside the woman's body during the procedure performed at a clinic in the capital area.

Police said they found the cremation certificate in which the abortion doctor stated stillbirth as the reason for the decision to cremate.

After the case gained attention through a YouTube video posted by the woman, the physician has been under investigation as a murder suspect by police since earlier this month.

Experts say that the revelation that the remains have already been cremated will pose challenges for investigators in proving their case in court.

"In any murder case, finding the cause of death through an autopsy is crucial," a lawyer told The Korea Times. "With the remains already gone, it will be very challenging."

In 2019, the Constitutional Court ruled that an abortion ban is unconstitutional, meaning that performing an abortion is no longer a criminal offense. However, without subsequent legislation to clearly define the permissible limits of the procedure, the issue remains in a legal gray area.

Experts say the doctor could be convicted of murder, but only if investigators uncover sufficient evidence proving that the fetal termination was completed outside the woman's body.

"Given that an abortion procedure isn't performed alone, eye-witness accounts from nurses or other medical workers who participated in it would be important to establish the facts," said another lawyer. "Even without direct evidence, the doctor could still be found guilty of murder if there are convincing grounds that the fetus was born alive."

The Korean Medical Association's spokeswoman Choi Anna speaks during a press conference at its headquarters in Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of Korean Medical Association

Medical experts suggest that an abortion at such a late stage might have been performed by inducing labor, which can be legally defined as a live birth and, therefore, a murder after birth.

This was the case in an incident that occurred in March 2019, a few weeks before the ruling by the Constitutional Court. An abortion doctor was indicted on charges of killing a 34-week-old after putting the live baby in a bucket of water following an abortion procedure. Eventually, he was sentenced to three years and six months in prison.

The details of this year's case are still unclear, including whether the same method was used for the procedure and, if so, whether the fetus came out alive.

At a press conference at its headquarters in Seoul, Monday, the Korean Medical Association described the case as a shocking incident and vowed to take disciplinary action against the doctor in question.

"To eradicate unethical medical practices that should not be performed by any doctors, we declare war against crime," Choi Anna, the organization's spokeswoman, said. "The Korean Medical Association will lead the effort to prevent abortions brutally conducted on savable babies."