생명 말기의 법적 안정성

The legal stability at the end of life

This study discusses legal issues surrounding the withdrawal of treatment for terminal patients. on May 21, 2009, the Supreme Court of Korea ruled that patients have the right to terminate medically meaningless treatment upon confirmation that their illness is indeed irreversible. The Supreme Court´s decision thus makes proof of the irreversibility of a patient´s condition an important process in legitimatizing a patient´s decision to terminate life-sustaining treatment. However, since medical practice rejects explanations in terms of "essences" and is affected by issues of subjectivity, I argue that physicians cannot give indisputable confirmation of the irreversibility of a patient´s terminal illness, as required by the Supreme Court´ ruling. So, this study points to a need for greater social consensus in Korea on the permissible level for the rejection of life-sustaining treatment not to damage the legal stability.