2025 Korean Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: Part 3. Adult basic life support

The 2025 Korean basic life support guidelines are evidence-based treatment recommendations for basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). The 2025 guidelines recommend that after checking the response of a patient suspected of cardiac arrest, call 119 (emergency medical services) immediately and request an automated external defibrillator (AED) before performing procedures to confirm cardiac arrest, such as checking breathing. There is currently insufficient evidence into the clinical effectiveness of dispatcher actively instructing individuals who report an emergency to retrieve and use an AED, but one observational study reported an increase in some survival rates. The guidelines recommend that lay rescuers and emergency medical personnel who have been trained in and are willing to perform artificial ventilation should apply standard CPR including artificial ventilation, and that lay rescuers who are not trained in or do not want to perform artificial ventilation should perform compression-only CPR. The guidelines emphasize high-quality CPR, including effective chest compressions and ventilation. The application of a rapid AED is continuously emphasized, and the anterolateral positioning method is recommended as a priority for ease of application. Healthcare workers are recommended to perform standard CPR with a compression to ventilation ratio of 30:2 for patients suspected of having a high-risk pathogen infection and to wear appropriate personal protective equipment, including a mask or respirator appropriate for the suspected pathogen, gloves, a gown, and eye protection.