South Korea’s constitutional court ruled to lift the country’s 66-year-old ban on abortion on Thursday, in a landmark decision that will decriminalise the medical procedure by the end of 2020.

Seven out of nine judges declared that the current penalising of abortion was “unconstitutional” and ordered parliament to revise the 1953 law.

"(The current law) limits the pregnant woman's right to choose freely, which is against the principle that an infringement on a person's right must be kept to the minimum," said the judgement, according to the Yonhap news agency.

The watershed moment comes as the East Asian nation faces a growing, and unprecedented, women's rights movement inspired by the global #MeToo campaign and revolting against the patriarchal values underpinning South Korean society.

South Korea, Asia’s fourth largest economy, is one of the few industrialised nations where the procedure is illegal except in cases of rape, incest and when the mother faces serious health risks.

Women caught going ahead with abortions can face a prison sentence of one year and a fine of £1,340, while medical workers who help terminate a pregnancy can be jailed for up to two years.

Although prosecutions are rare, pro-abortion activists argue that the fear of jail time leaves women in a vulnerable position – unable to pay their medical bills or seek follow-up treatment.