Gurye-gun Opens Advance Medical Directive Consultation Office

The First Preparation for Embracing a Dignified Death

[Gurye=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yuk Miseok] Jeollanam-do Gurye-gun (Governor Kim Sunho) announced that it has been designated as a registration agency for advance directives on life-sustaining treatment under the Act on Decisions on Life-Sustaining Treatment by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and has started operations since March 2021, currently registering 768 people.

An advance directive on life-sustaining treatment refers to a document in which adults aged 19 or older directly write their intentions regarding life-sustaining treatment or hospice care.

It is a document that allows individuals to think about their death in advance while healthy and to express their wishes in advance on how to proceed when medically approaching the end of life, such as not performing or discontinuing medically meaningless life-prolonging procedures, or using hospice care.

Applicants can apply in person by bringing their ID card to the Health and Medical Center, and there is no cost.

The completed directive is registered in the Life-Sustaining Treatment Information Processing System, has legal effect, and can be implemented at medical institutions with an installed and registered Medical Institution Ethics Committee. It can also be withdrawn through the registration agency when changes are needed.

A Gurye-gun official said, “We have secured a stable and independent space and installed a counseling room at the entrance of the Health Management Department of the Health and Medical Center to provide active services,” adding, “Thoughts on how to properly conclude life may vary, but thinking in advance about my eventual last moments is very meaningful.”

Gurye=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yuk Miseok hss79@asiae.co.kr

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