Objectives Active patient involvement is a core principle of patient-centred care, yet public experiences of medical decision-making in non-Western settings remain underexamined. In South Korea, nationwide evidence on how adults experience, perceive and prefer medical decision-making is limited. This study, therefore, examined Korean adults’ experiences, perceptions and preferences regarding medical decision-making. Design A cross-sectional study was conducted between March and April 2025 using online data collection for adults aged 19–59 years and face-to-face interviews for those aged 60 years or older. Setting This nationwide survey was conducted in South Korea. Participants A total of 1081 Korean adults were recruited using proportional quotas for sex, age group and region. After excluding withdrawals and invalid responses, 1000 were included (response rate 92.5%). Results Overall, 70.4% of respondents reported at least one significant health-related decision in the past 2 years. Although 34.1% reported making their most recent decision independently, a larger proportion preferred collaborative decision-making involving clinicians and/or family members. The clinician’s explanation was the most influential factor (77.4%). Preferences for primary decision-maker varied by clinical context: patient-led decisions were favoured for low-risk interventions such as vaccination (78.5%), whereas physician involvement was preferred for life-threatening illness (86.2%). Communication ratings were highest for presentation of treatment options (mean score 3.56±0.79 on a 5-point scale) and lowest for explanation of potential treatment risks (mean score 3.20±0.89). Participants satisfied with decision outcomes reported higher communication quality (p<0.001), while those reporting neutral satisfaction (37.1%) resembled dissatisfied participants (4.1%). Conclusions Medical decision-making was common, but respondents’ experiences did not always match their preference for collaborative involvement. The findings suggest that strengthening patient-centred care in South Korea will require not only improvements in patient–clinician communication, but also attention to family involvement and structural conditions such as limited consultation time and current reimbursement arrangements.
Kim et al. (Fri,) studied this question.