Next step in COVID response uncertain
The government’s next step toward a return to normalcy from the COVID-19 pandemic remains uncertain with the appointment of a new health minister still in limbo.
The cabinet vacuum is feared to hinder President Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s plan to implement a new pandemic management framework and achieve the smooth implementation of response measures.
As of Sunday, Yoon has appointed 14 out of 18 ministers, but it is uncertain as to whether scandal-ridden Health Minister nominee Chung Ho-young will take the helm or not, as the parliamentary confirmation hearing reports of the nominee have not been approved yet.
Chung has been mired in controversies involving his children’s admissions to medical school as well as his son’s exemption from mandatory military service.
He allegedly used his influence when he was the head of Kyungpook National University Hospital to help his daughter and son transfer to Kyungpook National University School of Medicine in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
During the confirmation hearing, May 3, Chung denied the allegations, claiming that no laws had been broken. In addition to the health minister nominee, Han Deok-soo, Yoon’s nominee for Prime Minister, who is to head the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, the pan-government organization handling COVID-19 response measures, is still undergoing the parliamentary confirmation process.
Due to the delay in appointments of top health officials, the first meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters under the new government proceeded without the prime minister or the health minister, May 11.
Despite expectations that Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) chief Jeong Eun-kyeong would convene the meeting, she was also absent. This has led to speculations that the country’s top disease expert, who has been overseeing the government’s COVID-19 quarantine measures and vaccination program since the pandemic outbreak, is likely to be replaced in the coming days.
The absence of leadership in the
COVID-19 response body has raised concerns, as the health authorities are set to make some critical decisions regarding the government’s plan on a phased return to normalcy.
On April 25, the health ministry downgraded the infectious disease of the coronavirus to Level 2, saying that it will decide whether to remove the seven-day mandatory self-isolation rule for virus carriers on May 22, depending on the virus situation.
The ministry also said it will introduce detailed plans on how to include treatment of COVID-19 patients in the normal medical system by the end of this month.
These decisions are expected to show the new government’s approach on handling the pandemic. Denouncing
the previous government’s quarantine measures as “unscientific” and “politically motivated,” the Yoon administration had vowed to make decisions based on scientific data.
Critics expressed concerns that the unsmooth leadership change in the public health ministry may hinder the country’s overall pandemic response measures.
“At this point of time, the government should be introducing detailed plans on how to improve virus response measures, but these discussions seem to be on the back burner amid the transition of power,” said Jacob Lee, an infectious disease specialist at Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital, during a forum held on May 11.