In South Korea, the issue of solitary deaths is increasingly becoming a grim statistic rather than an isolated incident, with the disturbing reality that when individuals die alone, the aftermath involves not just empty apartments but also hazardous biological waste. Blood, bodily fluids, and decaying matter left at the scene are currently classified as household waste, rather than medical waste, despite the clear health hazards they pose. This classification is based on a convoluted legal distinction that claims that such substances do not qualify as medical waste unless they originate from a registered medical facility, effectively ignoring the risks posed by such materials in private residences.

The lack of proper handling protocols puts special cleaning personnel in a precarious position, as they work with dangerous substances without proper medical waste management authority, training, or equipment. This legal loophole creates not only a safety concern for the workers involved in cleaning these scenes, but also poses broader public health risks to the surrounding communities. The existing legal frameworks in South Korea segregate the responsibilities of death management into distinct categories—funeral laws, public health laws, and environmental laws—none of which addresses the dangers posed by solitary death scenes directly.

To address this pressing issue, the article suggests that rather than creating new laws, there should be an expansion of existing legal definitions to reflect the realities of solitary deaths. By including hazardous materials generated during the hygiene and disinfection processes at death scenes in the categories of medical waste, the South Korean legal framework can better ensure the safety of cleaning workers and safeguard community health. Ensuring that such materials fall under stricter regulations is imperative to not just improve public safety but also to adequately address the nuanced nature of solitary deaths in society.