From August 8th to 12th, 2025,Support for sustainable decision-making and arrangements that preserve dignity for everyone during and after lifeAs part of the "Seoul-Japan Support Project," I visited Seoul, South Korea to conduct a survey on decision-making support for the elderly. This article provides an overview of the survey results.
Survey Objective
By investigating how people in South Korea, where the population is aging just like Japan, are supported in their final moments, we can hope to gain insights into the state of Japanese society. From the perspective of medical decision-making in particular, the "Act on Decisions Regarding Hospice, Palliative Care, and Life-Sustaining Treatment for Terminally Ill Patients" (Life-Sustaining Treatment Decision-Making Act) (*1), enacted in South Korea in 2016 and enforced in 2017, is noteworthy. While promoting the development of hospice and palliative care, this law also provides for the withholding or discontinuation of life-sustaining treatment based on patients' advance directives, and its content and implementation status have attracted attention in Japan.
Furthermore, with the implementation of the Act on Integrated Support for Medical Care and Healthcare (Integrated Care Support Act), which was enacted in 2024, scheduled for fiscal 2026, it will be interesting to note how South Korea will develop a medical care and health care system at the local government level that focuses on the elderly.
Therefore, we aimed to gain insights into the future shape of Japanese society by investigating South Korea's systems and culture, focusing on the medical field, where progress is being made, and the community care system, which is still being developed, and comparing them with Japan.
(*1) The translation of the Korean "Act on Hospice, Palliative Care and Decisions on Life-Sustaining Care for Terminally Ill Patients" isHere(This will take you to the website of the "International Collaborative Research on Ethical and Legal Issues in Decision-Making Support for Elderly People in East Asia").
Places visited and survey contents
August 9th
He visited the Seodaemun District Council in Seoul and held a discussion on supporting the elderly, focusing on the Integrated Care Support Act, which is scheduled to come into effect in 2026, with Seodaemun District Council members, Mapo District Council members, and three social entrepreneurs active mainly in Ulsan in southeastern South Korea.
August 10th
We invited a family physician who works as a palliative care physician at Korea University Anam Hospital to exchange opinions on various issues related to medical care for the elderly.
August 11th
In the morning, the group toured the Nowon Senior Citizens Welfare Center. In the afternoon, the group split into two groups: one to visit Seoul National University Hospital, and the other to visit the law firm Hwayu to discuss with former and current staff of Hana Bank Living Trust. The former group exchanged opinions on elderly care and community daily life support, while the latter group discussed asset management services.
Through these surveys, I was able to learn more about South Korea's efforts and challenges regarding medical care, social welfare, and asset management for the elderly.
From next time, we will provide more details about each of the survey locations.
