Organization launched for 'well-dying'

The founding members of the civic organization for “well-dying” salute the national flag at the inauguration ceremony of the group at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry building in Seoul, Friday. Around 300 people participated in the launch of the civic group, which was formed to help individuals prepare for their life’s end with dignity. / Yonhap

By Jung Hae-myoung

In an aged society where longevity is not specific to an affluent group of people, what becomes important is how to live in later life and how to end life with dignity.

In this context, civic group members, lawmakers, scholars and businesspeople have formed a group for “well-dying,” holding the inaugural meeting at the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI) building in Seoul, Friday.

The group is aimed at helping individuals prepare better for their later years and a beautiful ending to their lives in a super-aged society, where the elderly aged 65 or over take up over 20 percent of the total population. Korea has become an aged society, with more than 14 percent of the population being old.

“Unprepared deaths can be a huge burden for friends, family members and for society,” said Rep. Won Hye-young of the Democratic Party of Korea, who was in charge of the preparation committee for the group.

“All citizens should be able to end their lives respectfully and beautifully based on their own decisions, and it should settle into the culture of society,” he explained as the object of the group's establishment.

The group will concentrate on teaching patients how to write an Advance Medical Directive (AMD), a document in which the person specifies, in advance, which medical treatment they wish to receive or not when he or she becomes unable to make a decision, like in a state of brain death. It can be used for deciding whether or not to give life-sustaining treatment.

It will also help people put their names up for organ donations, heritage donations, and prepare for hospice facilities.

To carry out these activities, the organization will prepare professionals for this well-dying culture, run a center for comprehensive information support, and support funding for legislation and policy research.

“Six out of 10 Koreans hope to end their lives at the place they lived, but the reality is over 70 percent of the dead, and 90 percent of cancer patients, die at hospitals or nursing facilities,” Won said.

“In order to have solutions for an upcoming super-aged society, we need to make all our efforts for each person to make their death meaningful. We will come up with ideas for the patients to make better decisions about life-sustaining treatment.”

In Korea, nine out of 10 people said the government and civic organizations should share the responsibility to support the elderly in preparation for a super-aged society, according to research conducted of 1,200 people by Seoul National University Medical School.

However, only 54.5 percent of the sample said they would donate their inheritance, which can be used for social support, while 45.5 percent declined.

Korea remains relatively passive toward charitable bequests compared to foreign countries like the United States and the United Kingdom where donation of inheritance takes up 7 percent and 33 percent of total donations, respectively. In Korea, the ratio is only 0.5 percent.

Around 300 people from law, human rights work, business and social welfare have joined as founding members of the organization, including Won, KCCI Chairman Park Yong-maan, Seoul Arts Center board Chairwoman Son Sook, Rep. Jeong Kab-yoon of the Liberty Korea Party and Seoul National University Hospital Gangnam Center President Noh Dong-young.

Cha Heung-bong, a former health and welfare minister and the president of the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG), will be the first chairman of the board.