With the development of the third-generation gene scissors, CRISPR-Cas9, concerns are being raised about ethical and social repercussions of the new gene-editing technology. In this situation, this article explores the legislation and interpretation of the positive laws in South Korea. The BioAct does not specify and regulate 'gene editing' itself. However, assuming that genetic editing is used in the process of research and treatment, we can look to the specific details of the regulations for research on humans as well as gene therapy research in order to see how genetic editing is regulated under the Bio- Act. BioAct differentiates the regulation between (born) humans and embryos etc. and the regulation differ entirely in the manner and scope. Moreover, due to the fact that gene therapy products are regarded as drugs, they fall under different regulations. The Korean Pharmacopoeia Act put stringent sanctions on clinical trials for gene therapy products and the official Notification "Approval and Examination Regulations for Biological Products, etc." by Food and Drug Safety Administration may be applied to gene editing for gene therapy purposes.
This article explores the questions regarding PND and PID, especially the concrete legal conditions for the justification of PND and PID. As such, the German law stipulating PND and PID in a very concrete and detailed manner is introduced and explained in comparison with the corresponding South Korean law. The South Korean Bioethics and Biosafety Act (BBA) stipulates various types of gene testing and does not demonstrate a delicate sense of each type of gene testing. In contrast to the South Korean regulation, in Germany, there exist specific regulations for genetic counseling. Especially in the case of PND, GEKO stipulates the process of genetic counseling very concretely, based on GenDG. In the case of PND and PID, it is important that the people concerned understand the meaning of testing in various angles, and restructuralize it by combining it with their own values as the diagnosis is directly combined with pregnancy/abortion, which influences the whole life of a woman (and her partner). In this context, the South Korean BBA needs to be amended as soon as possible. The sections on informed consent also need to be amended to make them more concrete. Furthermore, guidelines for concretizing the regulation of BBA need to be continuously formulated and developed.