On April 15th, 2021, the GW Institute for Korean Studies (GWIKS) hosted the Korea Policy Forum “How Institutions Matter in Pandemic Responses: The South Korean Case”. The forum’s speaker was Dr. June Park, an East Asia Voices Initiative (EAVI) Fellow of the East Asia National Resource Center at the Elliot School of International Affairs at the George Washington University and the discussant was Dr. Celeste Arrington, Korea Foundation Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs of George Washington University. The discussion was moderated by Professor Yonho Kim, Associate Research Professor of Practice and the Associate Director of the GW Institute for Korean Studies. The forum focuses on Dr. Park’s contribution to the forthcoming book Coronavirus Politics’ chapter on the South Korean pandemic governance on COVID-19 encompassing South Korea’s public health (3Ts: Testing, Tracing, Treatment) and social policies.
Dr. Park begins her discussion by providing background information on what happened in 2015 (Failure in MERS) and changes in policies that were made post-MERS pandemic. She also stated that without further upgrades in the pandemic governance procedures, the incumbents will be forced out of power in the next year’s Presidential Elections. Dr. Park’s presentation was followed by Dr. Arrington’s discussion on the topic. Following the discussions, the moderator moved onto a Q&A session. The audience submitted a wide range of questions, including election and COVID-19 management, what role autonomy or close collaboration between state and business play in explaining positive outcomes to South Korea’s response to COVID, and the interaction between populist politics and health institutions.
