유전계보학 활용의 법적 함의

초록

With the progress of scientific technology in the field of genetics, the genetic information for use has been expanded and widely used for various purposes in many fields. Genetic genealogy is the use of DNA testing in combination with traditional genealogy methods to infer genetic relationships between individuals. This is currently used for not only inferring biological ancestors in their pedigree in research but also kinship testing and forensic investigation in practices. With the growing industry of DTC services, genetic genealogy is expanding, which proved its promising use by playing an important role in solving multiple cold cases in the US. However it was revealed that there were legal and ethical issues in the process regarding the control and use of genetic information generated with the informed consent of the purpose of the specific service. This situation made the discussion on issues related to the use of genetic genealogy and legal regulation in the US. In Korea, the situation is not such severe possibly due to a gap of genetic data available in countries. However, it is unpredictable for further application regarding the possible range of genetic information for use in genetic genealogy with highly advanced techniques in the future. Therefore, it is important to discuss possible risk and countermeasures able to be taken in advance. Here, we reviewed the precedent cases with potential issues in other countries, and discussed the current system in Korea. It is very important to continue discussing how to protect private information and genetic privacy, and to consider the advanced level of science and technology at the time of the discussion.

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