The Cabinet on Tuesday approved a bill allowing people with minor mental conditions to get licenses and certificates, a government spokesman said.
The bill separates those suffering from temporary or minor mental conditions from those diagnosed with serious illnesses making them unable to carry out specific duties or daily activities for a long period of time, spokesman Park Sun-kyoo told reporters.
The revision to the mental health law, subject to approval by the National Assembly, is aimed at giving mental patients more opportunities for
rehabilitation and helping them to adapt to normal life after receiving hospital treatment, he said.
The bill also requires hospitals to release patients who voluntarily committed themselves to treatment within 24 hours upon their request for a discharge.
New provisions in the bill include legal grounds for hospitalizing mentally ill foreign residents feared likely to hurt themselves or others, officials said.
The Cabinet also endorsed an accord signed at the summit of the South Korea, Japan and China in May to establish a secretariat in Korea on
trilateral cooperation on mental health.