Kang Kyung-wha: "Immature during Sewol Ferry and MERS, Different Under Current Government"… Interview with French Public Broadcaster

"Sewol Ferry, MERS: Government's Inadequate Response... Current Administration Prepared for Such Crises"
Current Government Responds Quickly and Transparently... Respecting Citizens' Freedom of Movement While Preventing Infectious Disease Spread

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha emphasized in an interview with a French broadcaster that unlike the Sewol ferry disaster and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak, the Korean government is responding quickly and transparently to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

On the 13th (local time), Minister Kang held an interview with France24, a French public broadcaster, stating, "The spread of COVID-19 in Korea is stabilizing," and explained, "Swift and proactive response is the philosophy of the Korean government and reflects recent experiences."

She particularly stressed that the Korean government's rapid and transparent response played a crucial role in suppressing the spread of COVID-19. Minister Kang said, "During the Sewol ferry accident, the government's immature response caused collective trauma," and added, "Although the government was criticized for its response during the MERS outbreak, the current administration was prepared for such situations."

Furthermore, Minister Kang introduced that Korea respects freedom of movement while blocking the risk of infectious disease spread. She said, "Unlike the forced movement restrictions implemented in Europe, Korea guarantees the freedom of movement of its citizens while effectively blocking the spread of infectious diseases," and added, "Even when the virus rapidly spread in Daegu and Gyeongbuk regions, no movement restrictions were imposed."

Regarding the question of whether it is appropriate to export COVID-19 test kits at the request of U.S. President Donald Trump, she replied, "The contract was made after the dialogue between the two heads of state and will be shipped soon," and added, "Test kits will also be sent to other countries."

Meanwhile, when asked whether North Korea's COVID-19 statistics can be trusted, she responded that it is necessary to consider that North Korea is an opaque and closed country. Minister Kang said, "We must take into account that North Korea is an opaque and closed country," and added, "The government expressed willingness to cooperate with North Korea but did not receive a positive response."

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