Controversy Over COVID-19 Test 'Reliability' in Korea... Authorities Say "No Need to Doubt at All"

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heung-soon] The quarantine authorities emphasized that there is "absolutely no problem" regarding the controversy over the reliability of domestic diagnostic tests for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) raised by some quarters.

On the afternoon of the 15th, Kwon Jun-wook, Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters for COVID-19, said at a regular briefing, "In Korea, diagnosis is conducted using the RT-PCR (real-time polymerase chain reaction) test method, which confirms the presence of the COVID-19 virus itself, as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO)." He added, "There is absolutely no reason to doubt its reliability."

This statement was made in response to recent cases in some regions where negative results were later followed by positive ones, and remarks from the United States suggesting that Korea's diagnostic kits cannot be trusted. Deputy Head Kwon said, "Currently, no country diagnoses using antibody tests, antigen tests related to the virus, virus isolation tests, or rapid diagnostic methods," and emphasized, "Incorrect information about the accuracy and reliability of our diagnostic tests is spreading through some YouTube channels and other sources, but this is completely untrue."

He continued, "Regarding rapid diagnostic methods, experts have advised that since sensitivity and specificity have not been verified, repeated RT-PCR testing may be necessary anyway," and explained, "Due to issues such as time consumption and accuracy, concerns about the reliability of the tests themselves have been raised, and no country confirms cases using this method."

Deputy Head Kwon also stated, "I understand that the four diagnostic kits approved for use domestically are also undergoing approval by the U.S. FDA (Food and Drug Administration)." He speculated that the statement made by a U.S. House representative during a hearing, quoting the FDA as saying, 'Korea's diagnostic kits are not even suitable for emergency use,' is likely a misunderstanding.

Regarding cases where results change from negative to positive, Deputy Head Kwon explained, "Experts believe that in elderly patients or those with underlying conditions, the virus may not be properly detected at first, but as time passes and viral shedding increases, the result can change to positive."

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