South Korea to Allow Online Advance Directives for End-of-Life Care

South Korea will soon allow people to create advance directives for end-of-life care online.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on the 2nd that the National Hospice and Advance Directive Committee reviewed and approved this year's implementation plan for the 2nd Comprehensive Plan for Hospice and Advance Directives (2024-2028).

The committee decided to establish procedures and revise laws to enable online registration of advance directives, which currently require a visit to a registration institution.

An advance directive is a document to pre-determine one's death. It specifies how one wishes to face their final moments, such as whether to receive life-extending medical care without therapeutic effect or to utilize hospice services.

Unlike a 'living will,' which can only be used by terminally ill or dying patients, anyone aged 19 or older can create an advance directive. Even if a directive has been written, its intent can be changed or withdrawn at any time.

The committee also plans to continue increasing the number of institutions that register directives in person.

According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of institutions registering advance directives increased from 760 in December 2024 to 819 in December last year. The number of medical institutions implementing the advance directive decision system also rose from 468 to 513 during the same period.

Since June last year, the issuance of 'mobile registration cards' has also begun, allowing for easy confirmation of previously written advance directives.

At the committee meeting on this day, it was also decided to improve the fee structure for home hospice care and to analyze factors hindering hospice expansion to establish measures for infrastructure development.

Hospice care is a medical service aimed at comprehensive assessment and treatment in physical, psychological, and spiritual domains for patients with limited life expectancy, such as terminally ill cancer patients, and their families. It is divided into inpatient, home, and consultation types.

In addition, the committee decided to upgrade the Hospice Comprehensive Information System by the second half of this year. This aims to facilitate patient linkage between hospice specialized institutions by sharing information on patients on the hospice waiting list and to calculate and analyze detailed statistics such as waiting list termination results.

Furthermore, hospice educational materials for patients with chronic respiratory failure will be developed, and practical training courses for hospice providers will be expanded.

Lee Hyeong-hoon, the Vice Minister of Health and Welfare and committee chair, stated, "End-of-life issues are our stories that can happen to anyone, to me and my family." He added, "We will develop the system by reflecting the voices from the field so that citizens can prepare for a dignified end of life."