K-Quarantine Diplomacy Led by Kang Kyung-wha... Discussing 'Post-Corona' with Overseas Mission Chiefs

Minister Kang Actively Refutes Overseas Media Claims of 'K-Quarantine Privacy Invasion'
Ministry of Foreign Affairs Plans Video Conferences with Overseas Mission Chiefs Throughout May

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha is continuing her active efforts for the globally spotlighted 'K-quarantine' diplomacy. Following an interview with German media, she attended a multilateral meeting hosted by the United Nations (UN) to promote K-quarantine and rebut concerns about privacy invasion. Leading with K-quarantine, Minister Kang plans to hold a series of video conferences with regional mission chiefs this month to establish a diplomatic strategy for the post-COVID-19 era.

On the 13th (local time), Minister Kang consecutively participated in an interview with Germany's public broadcaster Deutsche Welle and a video conference on COVID-19 response and digital cooperation jointly hosted by the UN and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), where she actively explained the Korean government's quarantine system regarding privacy invasion and personal information protection issues.

Some European media raised concerns about privacy invasion related to Korea's core 3T (Test·Trace·Treat) quarantine system, arguing that individuals' privacy could be infringed and personal information exposed during testing, tracing, and treatment processes. In response, Minister Kang stated in the Deutsche Welle interview, addressing similar questions, "A balance is needed between protecting patients' privacy and ensuring public stability," and firmly added, "Raising personal information protection issues is out of context."

Minister Kang particularly emphasized that privacy is restricted within the framework of the law and that Korea has a strong legal system. She rebutted, "Privacy is important but not an absolute right," and added, "Privacy can be limited within the bounds of the law, and we have a strong legal framework."

At the multilateral meeting, she also made remarks to dispel some claims about the K-quarantine system. Attending the 'COVID-19 Response and Digital Cooperation' video conference with about 300 government and international organization officials from various countries, Minister Kang stated that the Korean government effectively responded to the COVID-19 situation based on the 3T strategy grounded in openness and transparency and safely conducted the 21st general election, emphasizing, "Through efforts to balance quarantine and human rights in this process, we aim to gain the trust of the people."

She added, "Our government's measures for quarantine, such as contact tracing and disclosure of movement paths, are based on the 'Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act,' and we have established and are implementing guidelines on the period and scope of information disclosure from the perspective of privacy and personal information protection."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to continue video conferences with regional mission chiefs in May to establish a diplomatic strategy for the post-COVID-19 era, spearheaded by K-quarantine. On the 12th, First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Se-young held a video conference with mission chiefs from the four Nordic countries; on the 13th, Minister Kang held a video conference with mission chiefs from seven European countries; and on the 14th, Vice Minister Kim Geon held a video conference with mission chiefs from seven Middle Eastern countries.

Commonly in these video conferences, there was a call to consider the direction of Korean diplomacy based on changes in the international environment after COVID-19, and discussions continued on ways to expand engagement with host countries based on multilateralism. A Foreign Ministry official explained, "We plan to continue small-scale regional video conferences this month," adding, "In the meeting with mission chiefs from seven European countries, we shared forecasts on changes in European international politics and each country's response strategies, and exchanged views on strengthening European diplomacy after COVID-19."

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