Incorporating the Ethical Concerns of Direct-To-Consumer Genetic Testing in Employee Education

Abstract

Direct-to-consumer genetic testing was legalized in Korea 2015. According to the 2020 amendment to the Bioethics and Safety Act, employees of genetic testing institutions must receive relevant training as prescribed by law, and the training should include education concerning the ethical issues raised by genetic testing. This study reviews the ethical issues associated with direct-to-consumer genetic testing from the perspectives of virtue ethics and Beauchamp and Childress’s four principles of biomedical ethics (autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice). Additionally, this article suggests contents and methodologies for the ethics component of employee education in genetic testing. Raising awareness of the ethical issues associated with direct-to-consumer genetic testing through effective employee education is expected to reduce the occurrence of ethical problems and thereby protect consumers.