SOUTH KOREA – For a brighter destiny of South Korea’s first PAS bill
22 November 2022
Guest article by Jongbok Kim, Right-to-die Activist, South Korea
South Koreans are paying attention to the destiny of the country’s first physician-assisted suicide (PAS) bill. While various experts intend to oppose the bill, the results of recent surveys show South Koreans’ persistently high interest in the legalization of PAS.
The bill, called “Assisted Dying in Dignity Act”, which has been introduced in the National Assembly on June 15, 2022, is not a brand new one, but is a proposed amendment to the current passive euthanasia act which allows only patients already in active dying phase[1] to refuse life-sustaining treatments such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), hemodialysis, administering anticancer drugs, mechanical ventilation, etc.
Surveys confirm the population’s positive attitude
Whilst this act is criticized as being too limited, the proposed amendment widens the scope to any terminally ill individual suffering unbearable pain and adds PAS regulations similar to the ones already introduced in other countries, such as some states of the USA and Australia.
The bill was proposed by Member of the National Assembly (MNA) Gyuback Ahn of the Democratic Party, who insists it is time to introduce a more progressive law for terminally ill patients to access medically assisted dying as a legal end-of-life option.
Before and after the submission of the first PAS bill, there were a few noteworthy surveys, based on responses by 1,000 participants, which investigated South Koreans’ attitudes toward the legalization of euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide (EPA). As shown by the table below, the results of the surveys show that 7 or 8 out of 10 Koreans are in favor of the legalization of EPA.
Disagreement in public debates
Following the introduction of the PAS bill, there were two public discussions which got the attention of the media.
On August 13, 2022, a public seminar titled ”Systemizing End-Of-Life Medical Care More Urgent Than Allowing Euthanasia”, hosted by MNA Hyunyoung Shin, a former family physician, of the same party as the bill’s proposer, took place in a seminar room at the National Assembly Members’ Office building. All 9 panel participants including 6 medical doctors expressed opposition to the PAS bill on the grounds that society was not ready for it, and mainly discussed the need of developing a national end-of-life care system prior to the legalization of PAS.
On August 24, 2022, a public debate about pros and cons of the legalization of PAS, hosted by the proposer of the bill, was held in the 107-seat auditorium at the Members’ building, which was filled with around 130 people from a variety of age groups and professional backgrounds. 8 panel participants, including various professions, among them a family medicine physician (MD, Youngho Yun, see table above), a college philosophy professor, a former president of the Korean Society for Medical Ethics, a former judge/lawyer, and a Catholic clergy member, sequentially argued advantages and disadvantages of the PAS bill from their professional perspective. Two arguments by which the author was particularly impressed were the following: Hyunseop Kim, the philosophy professor, was concerned that if PAS became legal, ”social killing” or ”unwanted decisions” which people were forced to choose might occur as a side-effect of legalization. On the other hand, Junhee Nam, the former judge, stated that the right to self-determination of terminally ill Korean patients can be recognized as a specific manifestation of ”human worth and dignity and the right to pursuit happiness” in Article 10 of the South Korean Constitution[2].
Physician-assisted suicide in South Korea seems to be a highly controversial issue just like in England and France, where the topic has been debated for decades. Statistically, most South Koreans prefer to legalize PAS for those suffering irreversible and unbearable pain; however, so-called experts repeat their legal or political reasons rather than taking seriously the suffering some patients cannot be alleviated from.
The author, as a right-to-die social activist, expects terminally ill patients to be acknowledged as a part of the PAS bill and further discussions should be held allowing them to participate directly and have their needs and the help they wish for addressed.
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[1] Active dying phase differs from terminal phase, but generally refers to the last days to weeks of life.
[2] The Constitution of the Republic of Korea – Article 10: “All citizens shall be assured of human worth and dignity and have the right to pursuit of happiness. It shall be the duty of the State to confirm and guarantee the fundamental and inviolable human rights of individuals.”
