On May 21, 2009, the South Korean Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling allowing a brain-damaged patient the right to die. The patient, a 76-year old woman on life-support at a Yonsei University medical center, was brain-dead and unable to survive without the use of a respirator. Chief Justice Lee Yong-hoon reasoned that, since revival of the patient is impossible and death is imminent without a respirator, extending life-support could impose on the dignity of her life. He held that, for future cases, doctors should make efforts to confirm patients' wishes to die with dignity and that such determinations can be deduced from an analysis of different factors. Korean Minister of Health Jeon Jae-hee spoke out against the ruling, claiming that legalization of the right to die should be passed as a law complete with public hearings.


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