• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.99-137
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• 2018

Under the Korean law, there are two routes of involuntary civil commitment of the mentally-ill: involuntary commitment process under the Mental Health Act (MHA) and the guardian's commitment backed up by family court approval under article 947-2 (2) of the Civil Code. Despite of the recent fundamental revision of MHA in 2016, the Korean involuntary commitment law has still serious flaws, especially the lack of due process like prior notice, hearing, and independent guardian ad litem for the mentally-ill, which has been pointed out also by the Korean Constitutional Court. Thus, a re-revision is inevitable, and this time, we should proceed to rebuild the underlying structure of involuntary commitment. In this regard, it is crucial to eliminate the old-fashioned and unjustifiable burden as well as power of the so-called responsible person to protect the mentally-ill and to readjust the causes and standings to petition of the various types of involuntary commitment process. Also it is necessary to repeal involuntary commitment by guardian under the Civil Code, article 947-2 (2), which can no longer harmonize with modern involuntary commitment system.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare Studies
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• no.37
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• pp.369-397
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• 2008

The purpose of this study is to understand the context of mental hospital admission and discharge related with the stakeholder and to find out issues about public management on mental health disabilities. To this process, the more effecive alternative policies for mental health will be offered. As a research tool, the qualitative study was used, and the 6 case were analyzed. Through this study, we find 5 theme such as admission type occurred outside public management, uneffective public management in mental hospital treatment, long-term treatment mechanism occured in mental hospital, helplessness and role distortion of public follow-up system. According to the mental health law, mental hospital admission and discharge on mental health disabilities is to managed public system. But public management with mental health disabilities did not work on. In this results, we are find infringement on mental health disabilities. According to these findings, several suggestions are offered for better policies about admission and discharge procedures managed by public system.

• Korean Journal of Social Welfare
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• v.56 no.1
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• pp.203-233
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• 2004

Rapid process of industrialization and modernization in Korea has caused earning differentials between the rich and the poor, the feeling of alienation followed by excessive competitions among the members of community as well as the conflict between generations. Because of those factors, Koreans have come to undergo several mental problems such as anxiety, melancholy and suicide. However, scarce concern or effort has been given to solve those mental problems in the professional field of mental health. Social work service for mental health in Korea has been delivered on the basis of the Law of Mental Health, most of which are focused on treatment or care of mental patient himself or his family. Therefore ordinary people who have no mental disorder but have desire for mental health have no way to take service in the field of public mental health except for counselling programs given by some of the private social welfare institutions. In this context, the process of clarifying the concept of mental health is demanded before we develop the mental health program. As social welfare is the practical science that helps people seek after happiness and meaningful life, so clarifying the concept of mental health is needed not only for the field of mental health itself but also for every field of social welfare. In order to achieve this purpose, this study firstly arranged concepts of mental health in Korea using Q methodology. As the result, we found 21 dimensions including spiritual one and self-wellbeing one which newly identified in this study as well as 19 dimensions of Jahoda. We also found Koreans perceive concepts of mental health as independently as 5 types of Communalist, Rationalist, Individualist, Humanist, and Religionist. Secondly, on the basis of the result, we suggested that mental health programs in social welfare should be oriented to the positive concept of mental health. This study could furnish fundamental data that enable the concept of mental health to be spread to that of the growth for a better life not limiting on that of the prevention or the treatment of the mental disorder.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.365-369
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• 2021

Background: Law enforcement communications (i.e., 911 dispatch and call takers) is a challenging and stressful occupation. The purpose of this study is to identify the main stressors associated with employment in law enforcement communications, and to identify and provide context to how these stressors affect workers' health and wellbeing. Methods: This research study included focus groups with 23 call takers and 911 dispatchers employed by a large, urban law enforcement agency in 2018. Thematic analyses were conducted to identify trends. Results: Four themes of stressors emerged (i.e., the high stakes nature of some 911 calls for service, understaffing, supervisor-related stress, and recruiting practice). Two health-related themes emerged as being occupation-related: weight gain and poor sleep patterns/insufficient sleep). Specifically, participants reported negative eating habits resulting in weight gain and obesity, lack of sleep and irregular sleep schedules, and development of hypertension and/or diabetes since beginning their jobs. Conclusion: Law enforcement communications professionals experience a number of the same stressors facing law enforcement officers in patrol. These stressors, combined with the sedentary nature of the job, could result in long-term, chronic health problems.

• Journal of The Korea Institute of Healthcare Architecture
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.7-14
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• 2018

Purpose: This study analyzes mental healthcare delivery services and types of facilities, the status of installation and operation, and planning standard. The purpose of the study is to propose a basic data for the performance of related research and work tasks, along with an understanding of the Chinese mental healthcare facility type and support system. Furthermore, it will show a lack of current function management as the changes of mental health concept and demand for services increases, and it is intended to provide implications for the construction of mental health facilities. Methods: This study was conducted by a research on law and regulation of China's mental healthcare delivery service system and mental healthcare facility. The analyzed data are the national standard GB, the optional national standard GB/T, the building construction standard JGJ, and the report issued by the Health Planning and Development Committee. Results: At present mental healthcare facility construction in China is in the period of rapid development and it exposes the layout of medical facilities, which is not currently reasonable and the service does not reach the designated position and so on. Overall, it requires more detailed guidelines to enhance the quality of mental healthcare service. Implications: It is expected that the research of this paper will provide effective reference for future research on Chinese Mental healthcare system and facilities, and can promote construction of Chinese mental healthcare facility theory in perfect condition.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.592-606
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• 2015

Depression and mental illness across all age groups, and steady increasing in suicide rate are our major social problems which cause dramatically decreasing government competitiveness. While Korean government has implemented various policies to improve mental health and prevent suicide, it faces revealing issues in progress on implementation and referral management systems. The current research examined domestic and foreign cases to understand the actual status and directivity of ICT convergence plan in terms of mental health. The United States and the United Kingdom have provided convergent ICT service, telepsychiatric care to senior citizens in rural areas, children and adolescents, socially disadvantaged class, etc. In Korea, emergency-notice devices are installed to prevent suicide for single elderly people, and diverse mobile health devices are developing to cure depression and Alzheimer's disease. ICT convergent mental health care service is needed to save socioeconomic costs and realize universal welfare for an aging society. Social consensus on sharply conflict issues, medical law and medical devices about telepsychiatry service, effectiveness studies on users' unique psychiatric characteristics by life cycle, and region-specialized strategies for the least densely populated rural regions with lower access to medical care should be considered.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.231-267
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• 2008

Tobacco has become the world's leading cause of deaths and diseases. And !be tobacco use and dependence itself is a kind of diseases, so-called "mental and be-havioural disorders due to use of tobacco" in "International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems(ICD-10)" and "Korean Standard Classification of Diseases". The tobacco use and dependence is a chronic disease that requires repeated clinical interventions and multiple attempts to quit. But effective treatments to the tobacco use and dependence are developed and exist that can significantly increase the rate of long-tenn smoking abstinence. So the physicians should warn smoking patients about the dangers of smoking to the health and the life, and the clinicians ought to provide one of more of the treatments which have been proven effective in helping smokers quit to smoke. It has been concluded that if a doctor failed to provide effective treatment for smokers, and the smokers subsequently died of the smokers-related conditions(tobaccosis) or became incapacitated by the tobaccosis the smokers were considered in the medical malpractice. Thus the smokers could sue the physician for medical malpractice, claiming that the doctor's legal responsibility of appropriate treatments including smoking-cessation which the physician deliberately or negligently breached.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.227-255
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• 2011

Recently, many nations said "yes" to human embryonic stem cell research, signing an executive order to permit funding for the research in the mame of achieving health and life of humankind. Human Embryo Research is permitted by our Bioethics & Biosafety Act. But, illegal research cannot be divorced from civil liability since it requires the destruction of eggs of fertilized eggs and personal rights of embryo-creator. After all, though we allow to do research embryo, we should control the capacity of abuse of embryo research for embryo-creator. If research violate the law(Bioethics & Biosafety Act or Civil Law, etc), it comes to a delict by pecuniary loss and non-pecuniary loss. When it comes to pecuniary loss, Human Embryo is not body but special property. Supreme Court maintained a stance that mental suffering is generally deemed as compensable for damages for the loss of property where a person's property right is invaded by a tort or non-performance of obligation. Thus, where mental suffering occurs, which cannot be compensated by recovery of property losses, the situation must be a special circumstance and the injured could claim consolation money for such losses only if the offender knew or would have known of such special circumstances(Supreme Court Decision 96Da31574 delivered on Nov, 26, 1996, etc.). That is to say, Supreme Court regards mental suffering through person's property right invaded by a tort as damages that have arisen through special circumstances. According to Civil law article 393 (2), the injured could claim consolation money for such losses only if only if the offender had foreseen or could have foreseen such circumstances. Also our court will solve through damages for non-pecuniary loss by complementary function of consolation money in that pecuniary loss could be difficult to valuate.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.23-80
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• 2018

Since the 1960s, the United States' (U.S.) deinstitutionalization policy has reinstated people with mental illness into communities. Unfortunately, when untreated, some people with psychiatric disorders become homeless, and some commit serious crimes during a psychological crisis. Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT), also known as Kendra's Law in New York and Laura's Law in California, provides treatment, services and support to people with mental illness in the community. AOT has repeatedly been found effective and is recognized as an evidence-based practice. The response to the mental health crisis (crisis intervention) in the U.S. has also been successful in preventing worsening mental illness and related criminality and other issues. This paper provides an opportunity to create a platform from which to learn how to successfully apply the AOT and crisis intervention of the U.S. to South Korea within the cultural and societal context when establishing social services for people with mental illness in South Korea's communities.

• The Korean Society of Law and Medicine
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.133-170
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• 2022

Supreme Court 2018Da228486, on July 29, 2021, ruled Article 750 of the Civil Act as the basis for liability for damages due to the violation of the supervisory duty of the responsible mental patient. This judgment recognizes that the legal guardian is liable for tort due to neglect of the responsibility of supervision under Article 750 of the Civil Act because the duty of protection bears the duty of supervision over the mental patient under the law. However, unlike the case of Article 755 Paragraph 1, which explicitly requires a legal obligation to supervise, Article 750 only stipulates general tort liability. Thus, to admit tort liability under Article 750, it is not necessary that the basis of the supervisory duty by the law. In this case, the supervisory duty may also be acknowledged according to customary law or sound reasoning. The duty of supervision of a legal guardian is not a general duty to prevent all consequences of the behavior of a mental patient but a duty within a reasonably limited scope. Therefore, the responsibility of the burden of care should be acknowledged only when the objective circumstances in which it is appropriate to hold the legal guardian for the acts of the mental patient are admitted. Under the Act on the improvement of mental health and the support for welfare services for mental patients, a legal guardian cannot even be granted the supervisory duty to prevent the mental patient from harming others.