Whole-of-Government Approach

Since February 23 when the health alert for COVID-19 was upgraded to the highest level (“Level 4”) in the face of the massive outbreak in Daegu, the Korean government has maintained a concerted whole-of-government approach. The Prime Minister chairs the Central Disaster and Safety Counter-measure (CDSC) Headquarters Meeting, comprising all relevant ministries of the central government as well as the seventeen provinces and major cities.

The CDSC Headquarters Meeting has convened seven days a week since late February with very few exceptions such as the day of general elections on April 15. Since late April, as the number of daily new confirmed cases gradually decreased, the Prime Minister has cut back from chairing the committee meetings to three times a week, with the Minister of Health and Welfare or other high level officials filling in the rest. The Prime Minister also oversees ad-hoc meetings when new challenges arise, such as face mask shortages or steep increase in influx of COVID-19 from overseas that require in-depth deliberations.

Key Sectors inKorea’s Response to COVID-19

This daily conversation at the highest level between the central and local governments has been crucial to identifying problems and blockages and finding solutions, and ensuring that the solutions are implemented and adjusted as needed. With this approach, the Korean government was able to effectively utilize and allocate resources around the country. For example, when cases were soaring in Daegu/North Gyeongsang Province at the initial stage of the outbreak, many patients were transferred to other cities/

provinces for intensive care. After successfully flattening the initial surge, the conversations have centered on restructuring the allocation of the medical resources in preparation for the prolonged pandemic, and on ways to alleviate the sense of fatigue that has begun spreading among the public from the prolonged pandemic and social distancing measures.

In June, the CDSC decided to cluster the medical resources around the country, spread among the 17 provincial/city authorities, into six regional clusters.

This was to remove bureaucratic hurdles when transferring patients across administrative lines, and effectively pool together and secure hospital beds and medical resources in preparation for a possible surge in caseloads. A simulation exercise for the metropolitan cluster (comprising Seoul city, the adjacent Incheon city and the surrounding Gyeonggi province) was undertaken in early June. In early July, when caseloads surged in Gwangju city to around 50 per day, the southwest regional cluster (comprising Gwangju city and the adjacent North and South Jeolla provinces) was activated for nearly a month until the situation came under control.

Also, the close collaboration and division of labor between the central and local government officials have been instrumental in the effective manage-ment of self-quarantine cases, whereby each case is monitored/assisted by an assigned official. This concerted, adaptive approach will remain central in the Korean government’s collective efforts to overcome the socio-economic consequences of COVID-19.

All About Korea’s Response to COVID-19

Prime Minister presiding Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting

Key Sectors inKorea’s Response to COVID-19 1

4　To avoid the confusion, we will continue to use the term “KCDC” to refer to this agency hereafter, not “KDCA”.

Overview of Korea’s Comprehensive Crisis Management System President

Office of National Security (National Crisis Management Center) Central Safety

Management Committee Head: Prime Minister

Safety Policy Review Committee Head: Minister of the

Interior and Safety

Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters

Head: Prime Minister

Deputy Head: Minister of the Interior and Safety

Central Disease Control Headquarters Head: Director of KCDC⁴ (risk levels: Level 1, Level 2) Central Disaster Management

Headquarters Head: Minister of Health and Welfare (risk levels: Level 3, Level 4 (Highest)) Central Emergency

Rescue Control Headquarters (National Fire Agency)

Central Rescue Headquarters

(Coast Guard)

City/ Province or City/ County/ District

Emergency Rescue Control Headquarters

(National Fire Agency) Metropolitan Region/ Local Rescue

Headquarters

Other Administrative Departments and

Public Agencies Ministries and

Agencies

Province/ City/

County/ District Disaster and Safety

Countermeasure Headquarters

Head:

Provincial Governor or Mayor

Local Disaster and Safety Management Headquarters

in Local Governments

All About Korea’s Response to COVID-19

In addition, since day one, press briefings have been held twice a day, by the Minister/Vice Minister of Health in the morning and by the Director of KCDC and Director of the Korea National Institute of Health (KNIH) in the afternoon.⁵⁴ Regular press releases that cover a wide range of information including the number of confirmed and suspected cases of COVID-19, number of tests performed, regional distribution of confirmed cases, epidemiological links, number of contacts under quarantine, number of discharged cases, and other statistics are also provided in English daily (www.cdc.go.kr/cdc_eng/ and ncov.

mohw.go.kr/en).

For more information

Part Organization Division Email Contact

Governance Ministry of

Foreign Affairs Task Force for

Tackling COVID-19 khmin19@

mofa.go.kr +82-2-2100-6885

Governance Ministry of Health and Welfare

Division of International Cooperation

bjw3813@

korea.kr +82-44-202-2352

Governance

Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency

International Affairs

shinyelee@

korea.kr +82-43-719-7751

5　These briefings are live-streamed through the internet with simultaneous interpretation into English for international viewers (www.arirang.com at 11:00 am and 2:00 pm daily).

Key Sectors inKorea’s Response to COVID-19

The Korean government has been fighting COVID-19 without resorting to massive lockdowns by pursuing a systematic response strategy that consists of robust laboratory diagnostic testing to confirm positive cases, rigorous contact tracing to prevent further spread, and treating those infected at the earliest possible stage.

Given the potential risk of virus transmission by asymptomatic cases or mild cases, the Korean government placed a priority on early detection of the virus through preemptive laboratory diagnostic testing and strict epidemiological investigation. During the peak of the spread in mid-February, the authorities utilized most of the country’s testing capacity at nearly 20,000 tests per day.

The efficiency of testing was enhanced through Korea’s innovative drive-through and walk-drive-through screening stations, which allow easy access for sample collection while maximizing the safety of medical workers and health care institutions.

Where needed, the Korean government utilized mobile GPS data and other advanced technologies to track people who came into close contact with the confirmed cases, in accordance with the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, and place them under self-quarantine.

02 Testing, Tracing, and Treatment