Prime Minister Jeong Faces Test in Response to 'New Coronavirus'

Prime Minister Jeong Sye-kyun.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun's leadership has come to the test. For Prime Minister Chung, who declared himself a 'responsible prime minister' during the confirmation hearing, the current novel coronavirus (Wuhan pneumonia) crisis is both an opportunity to demonstrate his capabilities and a crucial turning point that will influence his future political trajectory.

According to the Prime Minister's Office on the 4th, Prime Minister Chung has canceled all previously scheduled visits to livelihood and economic sites this week and is focusing on preparing countermeasures against the novel coronavirus by holding internal meetings.

He plans to stay in his office, continuously hold internal strategy meetings with relevant ministries, receive real-time reports on the situation on the ground, coordinate inter-ministerial tasks, and devote all efforts to preventing the spread.

On the 23rd of last month, during the early stages of the novel coronavirus crisis, Prime Minister Chung chaired the Government Policy Coordination Meeting and emphasized preemptive measures, stating, "Infectious diseases must be responded to excessively at the early stage to block their spread."

On the afternoon of the 1st, a weekend, Prime Minister Chung visited the 1339 Call Center of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul, to check the response status to the novel coronavirus and encourage the call center counselors.

As public concern over the novel coronavirus grew, on the 2nd, Prime Minister Chung chaired the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCH) meeting and personally announced the government's decision to completely ban the entry of all foreigners who have visited or stayed in Hubei Province, China, within the last 14 days, effective immediately.

Prime Minister Chung particularly promised an all-out government response, stating, "Although the current response system is headed by the Minister of Health and Welfare, I will personally take charge of the response."

This is interpreted as maintaining the current CDSCH system, led by the Minister of Health and Welfare, while Prime Minister Chung himself will directly oversee the overall command.

In fact, it was reported that the day before the meeting, Prime Minister Chung separately gathered ministers from related ministries to coordinate differences among departments and meticulously oversee the measures the government would announce.

President Moon Jae-in is also supporting Prime Minister Chung's responsible prime minister approach. At the Blue House senior secretaries and advisors meeting on the 3rd, President Moon said, "A government-wide all-out response system led by the Prime Minister will be activated."

However, as immature responses have been exposed, including discord within the government, there have been complaints directed at Prime Minister Chung.

On the 28th of last month, Prime Minister Chung chaired a meeting of related ministers and announced, "We will send chartered flights on January 30 and 31," but on the day of the charter flight departure, the departure time was suddenly delayed. He was criticized for announcing the plan before completing consultations with China. The relocation of temporary living facilities for evacuees transported by the chartered flights from Cheonan, Chungcheongnam-do, to Asan, Chungcheongnam-do, and Jincheon, Chungcheongbuk-do, also sparked opposition from local residents.

The presence of a prime minister or minister varies depending on how they handle crisis situations. Former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon gained public trust through swift recovery and meticulous measures. He successfully managed the wildfire in Goseong, Gangwon Province, in April last year and effectively contained the spread of African swine fever through strong initial responses. Notably, during the wildfire-related ministerial meeting, his notebook was filled with words such as 'government trust, regional cooperation, restoration of livelihood facilities like pensions, farms, and food and lodging businesses,' which became a topic of interest. Both ruling and opposition parties evaluated that "his long administrative experience as Jeonnam governor shone through."

A ruling party official said, "For Prime Minister Chung, this is a good opportunity to prove his leadership with rich experience, having served six terms as a member of the National Assembly, party leader, and Speaker of the National Assembly."

A government official stated, "As the number of confirmed novel coronavirus cases increases, Prime Minister Chung judges that 'special response' is necessary, but he plans to maintain a calm tone while preparing countermeasures."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.