The government has recently initiated public discussion on a plan to move the timing for withdrawing life-sustaining treatment from the "imminent death phase" to the "terminal stage."
However, the Catholic Church is voicing concerns, warning that this could lead to euthanasia. Under current law, the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment is permitted only during the "imminent death phase"—that is, a state where death is immediately impending.
The government has recently launched a public discussion to pursue institutional changes that would extend this practice to the "terminal stage."
While both the imminent death phase and the terminal stage involve conditions with no possibility of recovery, the former refers to cases where death is expected within days, whereas the latter refers to cases where death is expected within months.
The issue lies in the difficulty of determining the "terminal stage" for severe non-cancerous illnesses—such as diabetes, dementia, or cerebral infarction—as opposed to cancer.
A Professor in the Department of Pulmonology, Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital"(In non-cancer cases,) when there is an acute exacerbation, the patient might appear to be in the terminal stage or the imminent death phase, yet their condition could improve with treatment. Therefore, distinguishing the terminal stage is extremely difficult. The biggest problem is the high likelihood that the terminal stage or imminent death phase will be judged arbitrarily in non-cancer cases."
There are other concerns regarding the proposal to shift the timing of withdrawing life-sustaining treatment from the imminent death phase to the terminal stage.
The Director, of Catholic Institute of Bioethics: "Rather than prioritizing the patient's right to self-determination or their own judgment and decisions, the focus shifts to medical judgment, effectively offloading all responsibility onto the patient..." From the patient's perspective, one cannot rule out the possibility that this could lead to "passive euthanasia"—where a patient dies because they are denied treatment they ought to receive.
"The greatest concern is the tendency that, once a doctor confirms a patient is in the terminal stage, necessary and appropriate medical care could be discontinued based on the patient's wishes. Furthermore, if the patient is unable to express their own will and such decisions are instead made by guardians or family members, it could effectively be viewed as euthanasia or assisted suicide."
There are concerns that expanding the scope of withdrawing life-sustaining treatment to include terminal-stage patients—without first establishing a care infrastructure that upholds human dignity—could drive vulnerable populations toward what amounts to "socially induced death." A Professor in the Department of Pulmonology, Yeouido St. Mary's Hospital.
"It could effectively force death upon those who lack the financial means to pay for medical care or the support system to look after them—people who might say, 'I won't get treated' or 'I'm a terminal patient; I don't want life-sustaining treatment' simply because they feel they have no other choice..."
Critics also point out that misunderstandings and misconceptions regarding the right to self-determination are fueling the push to accelerate the implementation of decisions on life-sustaining treatment.
"I believe the right to self-determination entails the right and duty to care for and enhance one's life by choosing the best available options; it is not the right to do whatever one pleases with one's own life."
South Korea has the highest suicide rate among the elderly (aged 65 and older) in the OECD. Behind the concept of a "death with dignity" lies a life devoid of dignity.
This is why we must not become a society that emphasizes only the "right to die" under the banner of "death with dignity."
"Ultimately, the move to halt life-sustaining treatment for terminal patients carries a significant risk: it could transform our society into one that encourages death rather than one that cherishes and nurtures life."
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