The Korean Society for Medical Ethics (KSME) is set to host its first international academic conference in 16 years, titled “KSME 2025: Global Health Ethics for the 21st Century: New Challenges and New Perspectives,” at SETEC from Friday to Saturday this week.
The international conference marks the society’s first such event in 16 years, following its last in 2009.
Yoo Sang-ho, vice president of KSME and professor of medical ethics at Hanyang University College of Medicine, who oversees program planning as organizing committee chairman, recently met with Korea Biomedical Review and explained the significance and goals of the conference.
“The upcoming conference will restore the society’s historical continuity and serve as a platform to examine the direction for the Korean medical ethics community amid the evolving healthcare environment,” Chairman Yoo said.
“Covid-19, which began in late 2019, significantly impacted medical education,” Yoo noted. “Medical ethics education, in particular, is limited when confined to lectures; experiential and reflective learning are essential. Due to the pandemic and the medical strike, students had to suspend or were unable to participate in education.”
He continued, “Recently, AI and societal changes have increased the need for academic and practical responses in medical ethics. Accordingly, this conference is themed ‘21st Century Global Health Ethics: New Challenges and Perspectives.’”
The conference features a keynote by Professor Angus James Dawson of the Centre for Biomedical Ethics at NUS. His presentation is titled “Confucianism and Cosmopolitanism.” There is also a session on “Crisis of Professionalism in Modern Society.” Professor Ahn Duck-sun, director of the Medical Policy Research Institute of the Korean Medical Association, will deliver a keynote on “Crisis of Professionalism in Modern Society.”
Following the keynote speeches, five symposia will be held on Friday and Saturday. The first symposium on Friday will be held under the theme “Bridging the Gap – Justice for Global Health.”
“This session will deeply explore international ethical challenges in global health,” Chairman Yoo explained. “To this end, international speakers invited from the Netherlands, Switzerland, South Africa, and other countries will participate, sharing practical examples of medical ethics and research governance from their respective nations.”
The second symposium, also held on Friday, will address “Medical Professionalism in Crisis.”
“The second session will discuss the crises facing the medical profession in modern society and potential responses,” Chairman Yoo said. “Speakers invited from the United States and Australia will discuss the sustainability of the profession and the ethical justification for defensive medicine.”
He added, “We will analyze structural factors causing crises in the medical profession. These include rising healthcare demand in an aging society, the cost of new technologies, and distrust between the government and the medical community. Broken trust between the medical community and the government directly threatens professional ethics. This impacts defensive medicine, resource distribution, and trust with patients.”
The final session of Friday, Symposium 3, will address “Global Healthcare Ethics: Various Aspects.”
“The final session (on Friday) will address death, life-sustaining treatment, euthanasia, and patient autonomy issues,” Chairman Yoo said. “Since an international academic conference cannot solely examine cases from developed nations, this session will feature a speaker from Pakistan, a developing country, to share medical ethics activities linked to civic engagement.”
Symposium 4, held on the second day of the conference (Saturday), will be conducted under the theme “Navigating End-of-Life Care and Treatment Decisions in a Super-Aging Society.”
Yoo explained, “This session will address death, life-sustaining treatment, euthanasia, and patient autonomy. Case studies from Japan, Taiwan, and Korea will be presented. We will focus on Taiwan’s Voluntary Stopping of Eating and Drinking (VSED) and Korea’s Family Consent under the Life-Sustaining Treatment Decision Act. The session also addresses patient autonomy in end-of-life decisions.”
Regarding Symposium 5, titled “Clinical Ethics – Ethical Issues in Caring for Elderly Patients,” Yoo stated, “This session spotlights ethical problems during elderly patient care. We will discuss clinical ethics in geriatrics, surgical field ethics for the elderly, and cases involving dialysis refusal.”
“This conference is more than academic presentations,” Chairman Yoo emphasized. “It is a forum to explore ethical responses to rapidly changing social and healthcare environments. Experts will review the crisis facing the medical profession, caused by aging populations, healthcare cost burdens, advances in technology, and loss of social trust. They will also examine the relationship between justice and ethics from a global health perspective.”
He continued, “This conference resumes international academic exchange for KSME. It is an opportunity for a comprehensive discussion of multi-layered issues—including medical, professional, and end-of-life ethics—from East Asian and global perspectives. We hope this event will enhance our capabilities. It can be a stepping stone for Korea to show expertise on medical ethics internationally.”
Meanwhile, key presentations at this conference include: In Symposium 1, Prof. R. (Rieke) van der Graaf (UMC Utrecht, bioethics and health humanities) will speak on “Health, Climate Justice, and Our Responsibility to Future Patients.” Prof. Tania Manriquez from the University of Zurich will present “A Case for Self-Experimentation in Global Health.” Prof. Keymanthri Moodley of Stellenbosch University will discuss “Ethics and Governance Challenges Related to Data Sharing in Southern Africa.”
At Symposium 2: presentation by Prof. Matthew Wynia, University of Colorado School of Medicine, on the topic “What is Professionalism and Will It Survive the Current Era?”; presentation by Prof. Ehsan Shamsi Gooshki from Monash University on the topic “Defensive Medicine: Ethical Aspects and Healthcare Professionals’ Perspectives.”
At Symposium 3, Prof. J.J.M. (Hans) van Delden (UMC Utrecht) will discuss “Clinical Ethics and the Importance of the Clinical Encounter for Bioethics.” Prof. Farhat Moazam (Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation) will present “Bioethics in South Asia.” Prof. Lee Il-hak (Yonsei University College of Medicine) will address “Just Healthcare in an Aging Society.”
At Symposium 4 on Saturday, Prof. Yicheng Chung (Kumamoto University, Japan) will present “End-of-Life Care in Japan.” Prof. Liu-Ing Bih (Taichung Hospital) will speak on “Voluntarily Stopping Eating and Drinking (VSED) in Taiwan.” Prof. Kim Su-jeong (Catholic University of Korea) will discuss “Marginalized Dying and Ethical Strain: Reflections on End-of-Life Care in Korea.” Prof. Moon Jae-young (Chungnam National University College of Medicine) will speak on “End-of-Life Care and Life-Sustaining Treatment for Terminally Ill Patients in Korea.”
Finally, Symposium 5 will feature: presentation by Professor Cho Soo-kyung, Department of Rheumatology, Hanyang University College of Medicine, on the topic “Geriatric Care and Ethics”; presentation by Professor Ha Heon-kyun, Department of Surgery, Chung-Ang University Gwangmyeong Hospital, on the topic “Geriatric Surgery and Ethics”; presentation by Director Lee Dong-hyung of the Hemodialysis Center at Beomil Yonsei Clinic on “Ethics of Care for Elderly Patients on Dialysis”; presentation by Professor Choi Ji-soo of the Department of Respiratory Medicine at Yongin Severance Hospital on “ICU Care”; presentation by Professor Eo Eun-kyung of the Department of Emergency Medicine, Soon Chun Hyang University Hospital Bucheon, on the topic of “Abuse & Neglect”; and presentation by Professor Yoo Shin-hye of the Palliative Care and Clinical Ethics Center, Seoul National University Hospital, on the topic of “Decision-Making” will follow.
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