Question

What will be the consequences on the economy of South Korea after COVID 19?

Answer 1

South Korea has become the second largest epicenter of the spreading coronavirus epidemic after China in just over a week, with known cases jumping from 51 reported cases on February 18 to 5,621 reported cases on March 4 and likely many more by the time you read that. The rapid rise in COVID-19 cases has focused around people

After the successful weathering of a MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak in 2015, both the Korean public and the international community are fairly confident in the capacities and response capabilities of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the country's public health sector. The Government of South Korea has rapidly mobilized two-day briefings from the Korean CDC, has actively provided widespread public information on the recent movements of infected individuals and has given access to free and convenient COVID-19 testing, and has stepped up ubiquitous public health campaigns to encourage the population to take precautionary measures such as wearing masks in public

Korean government's capacity and willingness to proactively screen large numbers of people who may have come into contact with the virus has contributed to a significant number of cases identified in South Korea, second only to China. This exponential increase in efficient testing cases has resulted in steep declines in the stock market, the imposition of blanket travel bans against South Korea, and widespread discriminatory treatment of South Koreans abroad. The public health hope is that a concerted strategy will minimize the length of the epidemic and improve the probability of getting the virus under control, but it may be unavoidable that the harm feels in other ways.

Despite these measures, the South Korean government has been criticized for failing to take more effective steps to avoid the initial spread of coronavirus to South Korea, such as enforcing a blanket travel ban from China. Such criticisms come just six weeks before the anticipated April 15 National Assembly polls, which will now serve as a referendum on the response of South Korean President Moon Jae-in administration to COVID-19.

More than 700,000 people signed a petition questioning the government's decision not to close travel routes from China and more than 1,200,000 signed a petition calling on the government to close the religious sect which served as the original COVID-19 transmission epicenter. Such concerns are being magnified in response to the increase in COVID-19 cases in Korea, as other countries impose tight travel restrictions on South Korea. At the same time, openings by the South Korean government to strictly impose a quarantine around a city or area along the lines of the Chinese approach have also provoked public outrage, rendering implementation of these restrictions impossible

Despite the relatively high response potential of the South Korean public health sector and its recent experience with similar viruses, the new coronavirus appears ready to spread further in South Korea, causing an uncertain proportion of a human health catastrophe. COVID-19 also seems ready to demand a high economic toll on the government. The biggest outstanding question is whether the Moon administration is to become yet another victim of the public health crisis catalyzed by the COVID-19 outbreak.