Asia-Pacific, Coronavirus, Asia-Pacific, International Relations , Public Health Former South Korean Prime Minister visits Perry World House to discuss his pandemic response

Former South Korean Prime Minister Chung Sye-Kyun visited Penn last week to discuss his response to the COVID-19 pandemic in an event hosted by Perry World House and the James Joo-Jin Kim Center for Korean Studies. 

James Victory interpreted for Chung, who took office as prime minister in January 2020 and served until 2021. When Korea reported its first COVID-19 case on Jan. 20, Chung was also responsible for containing the virus across the nation. He led a strategy that has been dubbed “K-Quarantine” to limit the spread of the virus by implementing local quarantine policies rather than a national lockdown. 

In the talk, Chung said that “K-Quarantine” allowed South Korea to maintain its medical and economic strength in the post-pandemic era. He cited multiple other reasons for South Korea’s success in containing the pandemic, including effective cooperation between central and provincial governments. 

Chung added that he led online video conferences with municipal agencies as a representative of the central government to operate under transparency, democracy, and openness. 

Read more on The Daily Pennsylvanian>>