「생명윤리 및 안전에 관한 법률」의 과거와 현재, 그리고 미래에 대한 성찰

The Bioethics and Safety Act (hereinafter referred to as the “Bioethics Act”) came into effect in Korea in January 2005, and 20 years have passed since then. When the Bioethics Act was first enacted, there was a strong social demand to regulate life science technologies through law, driven mainly by concerns about the possibility of human cloning and the misuse of genetic information. While the “sanctity of life” had long been a foundational ethical stance, the rapid advances in life science technologies gave a warning signal to traditional thinking. While the potential to manipulate life phenomena with life science technologies raised expectations of dramatic improvements in health and quality of life, it also provoked serious concerns about violations of human dignity and the emergence of social risks. In this context, the Bioethics Act is a product of concern more than hope. At that time, the fields of bioethics and law did not yet have answers to the newly emerging questions. Now, 20 years later, life science technologies continue to evolve and grow through exposure to and interaction with new areas such as precision medicine, regenerative medicine, and artificial intelligence. Ethical conflicts have also become more complex and diverse. Moreover, perceptions of life science technologies among the members of society have changed and diversified significantly compared to when the Bioethics Act was first established. Korea’s Bioethics Act has undergone multiple amendments, including a complete revision, and the Basic Policy on Bioethics, which explores the identity of the Act and related policies, has also been introduced. Internationally, authoritative global norms such as UNESCO’s Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights have emerged. These shifts in both social and normative environments now call for a renewed examination and fundamental reflection.