한국의료윤리학회지(Korean Journal of Medical Ethics)

About Korean Journal of Medical Ethics

Korean Journal of Medical Ethics is the official, peer-reviewed journal of the Korean Society of Medical Ethics. It serves as an international forum for the exchange of ideas and information among scholars, practitioners, and ethicists in the field of medical ethics. This journal aims to provide theoretical foundations and practical analyses for healthcare while promoting ethical practices in medicine and scientific research. It also explores the ethical, legal, and social implications of medicine and examines related policy frameworks.
Editorial: Special Topic Session

Mar 31, 2025

Opening a Forum for Sharing and Discussing Ethical Cases
윤리 사례 공유와 토론의 장을 열며

Sang-Ho Yoo
유상호

Korean J Med Ethics 2025;28(1):1-2.
https://doi.org/10.35301/ksme.2025.28.1.1
Report: Special Topic Session

Mar 31, 2025

The Current Status of Advance Care Planning in Korea, Examined through the Experience of a Terminally Ill Cancer Patient
실제 말기암 환자의 진료 과정을 통해 살펴본 한국의 사전돌봄계획 현황

Hongyeul Lee
이홍열

Korean J Med Ethics 2025;28(1):3-7.
https://doi.org/10.35301/ksme.2025.28.1.3

Since the enactment, in South Korea, of the “Life-Sustaining Treatment Decisions Act,” public awareness of decisions regarding life-sustaining treatment has grown. However, healthcare providers continue to face challenges in making timely decisions and engaging in advance care planning. The medical literature on end-of-life decision-making in Korea often relies on hypothetical scenarios or translated cases from foreign journals, most of which focus narrowly on resolving conflicts that arise during the decision-making process. In practice, h...
Commentary: Special Topic Session

Mar 31, 2025

A Critical Care Physician’s Perspective on the Care Process and Death of a Terminal Cancer Patient
중환자실 의사의 시선으로 바라 본 어느 말기암 환자의 진료 과정과 죽음

Jae Young Moon
문재영

Korean J Med Ethics 2025;28(1):9-13.
https://doi.org/10.35301/ksme.2025.28.1.9

This article examines the care process and death of a terminal cancer patient from the perspective of a critical care physician, highlighting the challenges of making timely decisions about life-sustaining treatment. While the implementation of the Life-sustaining Treatment Decisions Act has faced criticism, it has significantly reduced conflicts over futile treatments that contradict the wishes of patients and families. Additionally, it has increased awareness among the public and medical professionals of the importance of dignity at the end o...
Commentary: Special Topic Session

Mar 31, 2025

Palliative Care as a Goal: Advance Care Planning and Life-sustaining Treatment Decisions from a Physician’s Perspective
호스피스를 넘어, 돌봄의 목표로서의 완화의료: 완화의료 의사의 관점에서 본 사전돌봄계획과 연명의료결정

Shin Hye Yoo
유신혜

Korean J Med Ethics 2025;28(1):15-21.
https://doi.org/10.35301/ksme.2025.28.1.15

Advance care planning (ACP) and life-sustaining treatment decisions in Korea remain more procedural than patient-centered. Discussions tend to focus more on discontinuing life-sustaining treatment or transitioning to hospice than on integrating palliative care throughout the course of an illness. This commentary analyzes a case in which a terminal cancer patient passed away at home without formal ACP or hospice enrollment. While legally unproblematic, this outcome raises concerns about whether the patient’s values and care goals were adequate...
Commentary: Special Topic Session

Mar 31, 2025

The Behind-the-Scenes of Advance Care Planning in Clinical Practice: A Case Study
사례를 통해 살펴본 임상현장에서의 사전돌봄계획 수립의 이면

Wonho Choi, Seungmin Nam
최원호, 남승민

Korean J Med Ethics 2025;28(1):23-28.
https://doi.org/10.35301/ksme.2025.28.1.23

This paper examines the practical challenges of respecting patient autonomy in life-sustaining treatment (LST) decisions through a real clinical case. While Korea’s Life-Sustaining Treatment Decision Act provides a legal framework for withholding and withdrawing LST, its implementation in clinical settings remains complex. This case study illustrates the intricate decision-making dynamics among patients, healthcare providers, and caregivers, highlighting the need for more nuanced ethical deliberation in Advance Care Planning (ACP). The absenc...
Commentary: Special Topic Session

Mar 31, 2025

A Commentary on “The Current Status of Advance Care Planning in Korea, Examined through the Experience of a Terminally Ill Cancer Patient”
‘실제 말기암 환자의 진료 과정을 통해 살펴본 한국의 사전돌봄계획 현황’에 대한 논평

Kyu Min Kim
김규민

Korean J Med Ethics 2025;28(1):29-34.
https://doi.org/10.35301/ksme.2025.28.1.29

This commentary offers an analysis of the limitations of Advance Care Planning (ACP) and life-sustaining treatment decision-making in Korea, drawing upon the article” The Current Status of Advance Care Planning in Korea, Examined through the Experience of a Terminally Ill Cancer Patient.” Using a case-based approach, this analysis explores issues related to patient autonomy, surrogate decision-making, the role of healthcare providers, and institutional challenges. It highlights the importance of initiating ACP discussions early in the patie...
Commentary: Special Topic Session

Mar 31, 2025

The Need for Public Debate on the Activation of Terminality
말기활성화에 대한 사회적 논의가 필요하다

Dolil Shin, Chang-O Kim
신동일, 김창오

Korean J Med Ethics 2025;28(1):35-39.
https://doi.org/10.35301/ksme.2025.28.1.35

While cancer patients typically pass away within a few months of being deemed incurable, patients with other chronic illnesses, such as severe dementia, experience a slow decline in their condition over several years despite active treatment. Since it is not always easy to determine when the end-of-life phase begins for any patient, it is common for the excessive treatment that is characteristic of the disease progression phase to carry over to the end-of-life phase. This article follows the clinical course of a non-cancerous patient who surviv...
Research article: Special Topic Session

Mar 31, 2025

Challenges and Proposed Improvements in Advance Care Planning: Insights from a Real Clinical Case of a Terminally Ill Patient in Korea
실제 말기환자의 사례를 통해 알아본 한국의 사전돌봄계획에 대한 문제점과 개선 방안

Hongyeul Lee
이홍열

Korean J Med Ethics 2025;28(1):41-60.
https://doi.org/10.35301/ksme.2025.28.1.41

Since the implementation of the Life-Sustaining Treatment Decision Act, a lack of clear clinical guidelines has made it difficult to address conflicts that arise in the decision-making process concerning life-sustaining treatment. This study examines the current state of advance care planning in Korea through a clinical case concerning a terminally ill cancer patient, identifying the causes of inadequate decision-making and potential areas for improvement. Using the four-topic approach, the analysis reveals that discussions on life-sustaining t...
Research article: Special Topic Session

Mar 31, 2025

Protherapeutic Authoritarianism: Predicting Contributing Factors to ICU Conflicts in Life-sustaining Treatment Decisions in South Korea
치료지향 권위주의(Protherapeutic Authoritarianism): 국내 연명의료결정 과정 중 집중 치료 병동 내 갈등의 발생 요인 예견

Seongwon Yun
윤성원

Korean J Med Ethics 2025;28(1):61-74.
https://doi.org/10.35301/ksme.2025.28.1.61

The concept of protherapeutic authoritarianism, a critical notion in medical ethics, has received insufficient attention in the literature and remains underdeveloped even though 40 years have passed since the first significant publication on the topic. This article introduces a revised and updated framework for protherapeutic authoritarianism, one that is designed to identify factors influencing the conflicts that arise during life-sustaining treatment decisions. Specifically, the article pursues three objectives: first, it defines protherapeut...
Research Article

Mar 31, 2025

The Ideal Physician-patient Relationship in Narrative Medicine
서사의학 관점에서 본 이상적인 의사-환자 관계

Donghyun Ahn
안동현

Korean J Med Ethics 2025;28(1):75-91.
https://doi.org/10.35301/ksme.2025.28.1.75

Narrative medicine aims to enhance empathetic, patient-centered care by listening to patients’ narratives and understanding their experiences. This article examines Emanuel and Emanuel’s four models of the physician-patient relationship—paternalistic, informative, interpretive, and deliberative—highlighting their distinctions and connections to narrative medicine. By comparing these models, the article shows how narrative medicine addresses some of the limitations of traditional approaches to patient care. Drawing on analyses of literar...
Brief communication

Mar 31, 2025

The 2024 Medical-political Conflict and the Future of Korean Healthcare
2024 의정사태와 한국 의료의 미래

Yooseock Cheong
정유석

Korean J Med Ethics 2025;28(1):93-101.
https://doi.org/10.35301/ksme.2025.28.1.93

In 2024, the South Korean healthcare system experienced an unprecedented crisis amid severe conflicts between the government and the medical community. The government’s unilateral healthcare policies—especially its proposed increase of 2,000 medical school admissions and its strict countermeasures against protesting physicians—triggered a mass exodus of students, residents, and faculty members crucial to essential medical services. Consequently, medical education across the nation was suspended for a year, and university hospitals experie...

CURRENT ISSUE: Mar 2025, Vol. 28, No. 1

Editorial: Special Topic Session Opening a Forum for Sharing and Discussing Ethical Cases 윤리 사례 공유와 토론의 장을 열며 Sang-Ho Yoo 유상호 Korean J Med Ethics 2025;28(1):1-2. https://doi.org/10.35301/ksme.2025.28.1.1 HTML PDF PubReader	Report: Special Topic Session The Current Status of Advance Care Planning in Korea, Examined through the Experience of a Terminally Ill Cancer Patient 실제 말기암 환자의 진료 과정을 통해 살펴본 한국의 사전돌봄계획 현황 Hongyeul Lee 이홍열 Korean J Med Ethics 2025;28(1):3-7. https://doi.org/10.35301/ksme.2025.28.1.3 HTML PDF PubReader
Commentary: Special Topic Session A Critical Care Physician’s Perspective on the Care Process and Death of a Terminal Cancer Patient 중환자실 의사의 시선으로 바라 본 어느 말기암 환자의 진료 과정과 죽음 Jae Young Moon 문재영 Korean J Med Ethics 2025;28(1):9-13. https://doi.org/10.35301/ksme.2025.28.1.9 HTML PDF PubReader	Commentary: Special Topic Session Palliative Care as a Goal: Advance Care Planning and Life-sustaining Treatment Decisions from a Physician’s Perspective 호스피스를 넘어, 돌봄의 목표로서의 완화의료: 완화의료 의사의 관점에서 본 사전돌봄계획과 연명의료결정 Shin Hye Yoo 유신혜 Korean J Med Ethics 2025;28(1):15-21. https://doi.org/10.35301/ksme.2025.28.1.15 HTML PDF PubReader
Commentary: Special Topic Session The Behind-the-Scenes of Advance Care Planning in Clinical Practice: A Case Study 사례를 통해 살펴본 임상현장에서의 사전돌봄계획 수립의 이면 Wonho Choi, Seungmin Nam 최원호, 남승민 Korean J Med Ethics 2025;28(1):23-28. https://doi.org/10.35301/ksme.2025.28.1.23 HTML PDF PubReader	Commentary: Special Topic Session A Commentary on “The Current Status of Advance Care Planning in Korea, Examined through the Experience of a Terminally Ill Cancer Patient” ‘실제 말기암 환자의 진료 과정을 통해 살펴본 한국의 사전돌봄계획 현황’에 대한 논평 Kyu Min Kim 김규민 Korean J Med Ethics 2025;28(1):29-34. https://doi.org/10.35301/ksme.2025.28.1.29 HTML PDF PubReader
Commentary: Special Topic Session The Need for Public Debate on the Activation of Terminality 말기활성화에 대한 사회적 논의가 필요하다 Dolil Shin, Chang-O Kim 신동일, 김창오 Korean J Med Ethics 2025;28(1):35-39. https://doi.org/10.35301/ksme.2025.28.1.35 HTML PDF PubReader	Research article: Special Topic Session Challenges and Proposed Improvements in Advance Care Planning: Insights from a Real Clinical Case of a Terminally Ill Patient in Korea 실제 말기환자의 사례를 통해 알아본 한국의 사전돌봄계획에 대한 문제점과 개선 방안 Hongyeul Lee 이홍열 Korean J Med Ethics 2025;28(1):41-60. https://doi.org/10.35301/ksme.2025.28.1.41 HTML PDF PubReader
Research article: Special Topic Session Protherapeutic Authoritarianism: Predicting Contributing Factors to ICU Conflicts in Life-sustaining Treatment Decisions in South Korea 치료지향 권위주의(Protherapeutic Authoritarianism): 국내 연명의료결정 과정 중 집중 치료 병동 내 갈등의 발생 요인 예견 Seongwon Yun 윤성원 Korean J Med Ethics 2025;28(1):61-74. https://doi.org/10.35301/ksme.2025.28.1.61 HTML PDF PubReader	Research Article The Ideal Physician-patient Relationship in Narrative Medicine 서사의학 관점에서 본 이상적인 의사-환자 관계 Donghyun Ahn 안동현 Korean J Med Ethics 2025;28(1):75-91. https://doi.org/10.35301/ksme.2025.28.1.75 HTML PDF PubReader
Brief communication The 2024 Medical-political Conflict and the Future of Korean Healthcare 2024 의정사태와 한국 의료의 미래 Yooseock Cheong 정유석 Korean J Med Ethics 2025;28(1):93-101. https://doi.org/10.35301/ksme.2025.28.1.93 HTML PDF PubReader

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