고령자 웰다잉을 위한 법제 개선 방안 (3) ― 장사·장례 제도를 중심으로 ―

Abstract

This paper aims to analyze the current status of well-dying from a legal perspective and to seek improvement points for well-dying, which is relatively abstract and approached from various perspectives as part of the study of the elderly. As one of the research areas of well-dying to be discussed from a legal perspective, this paper focused on the legal system of funeral services. As a current law regulating the funeral services, the Act on Funeral Services has the legislative purpose of preventing risks to public health and hygiene caused by the conducting funeral services in each sector, and of promoting efficient utilization of national land and public welfare. This Act stipulates matters related to methods of conducting funeral services and to installing, developing, managing, etc. funeral service establishments. However, recently, the rate of people choosing cremation over burial is much higher, and the funeral culture is changing to focus on memorialating the deceased rather than formality and ritual. It is necessary to establish a flexible legal system that can respond to these changing funeral culture and paradigm. From this perspective, this paper deals with the following issues. First, the concept of well-dying and setting the scope of research to discuss funeral services system from a legal perspective were established. Next, the current status of legislation and operation related to funeral services were reviewed. Based on these, this paper suggests measures to improve the legal and institutional systems of funeral services from the perspective of well-dying for the elderly. The following three points were proposed specifically: a) introduction of writing a prior funeral intention to guarantee the right to self-determination; b) establishment of a legal system that can respond to changing funeral culture and paradigm; and c) strengthening the role of local governments for the development of the funeral services system.