On Monday December 19, a forum for the “beautiful end of life” was held at the National Assembly of South Korea. It was organised by three lawmakers (Kim Sang-hun of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), In Jae-keun of the opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and Suh Young-seok of the same DPK party) and the Well-dying Culture Movement.
Won Shi-youn, a National Assembly Research Service researcher, stressed the need for sincere discussions instead of “issue-making debates. She spoke about various well-dying systems in foreign countries and pleed to enact a similar law in Korea. Commenting on the existing “Act to determine life-sustaining treatment” she said that this law only makes the issue of euthanasia and death with dignity intermittently and does not play an active role in creating a well-dying culture. In addition to building a quality medical and care system toward the end of life, the nation should create a culture that prepares and determines the end of life, according to Won Shi-youn.