WB Selects Korea as Emergency Medical Designated Country... Third in East Asia-Pacific Region

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] Amid the global spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the World Bank (WB) has designated South Korea as an 'Emergency Medical Designated Country' based on its successful quarantine experience and advanced medical standards.

On the 9th, the Ministry of Economy and Finance announced, "Recently, the World Bank decided to designate South Korea as an emergency medical designated country responsible for treating WB East Asia and Pacific regional staff in emergency medical situations." Victoria Kwakwa, WB Vice President for East Asia and the Pacific, and Annette Dixon, Vice President for Human Development, conveyed in a letter addressed to Heo Jang, Director General for International Economic Affairs at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, that "the World Bank was greatly impressed by the Korean government's and people's COVID-19 response measures, and there are many lessons other member countries can learn from Korea's experience."

In particular, along with this, the World Bank has been promoting case studies on Korea's COVID-19 response and has communicated specific cooperation plans between Korea and the World Bank in the health and medical fields, including the deployment of World Bank health experts to the Korea office (Songdo).

Until now, the World Bank has comprehensively considered social infrastructure such as medical standards, accessibility, and safety to designate and operate Thailand and Singapore as 'Emergency Medical Designated Countries.' Korea is the third designated country, allowing WB staff, families, and business travelers working in 29 WB East Asia and Pacific countries including the Philippines, Cambodia, Mongolia, and Vietnam to receive medical treatment in Korea in case of emergency medical situations.

The scope of treatment includes not only general trauma requiring emergency care such as injuries but also acute and severe diseases and chronic diseases (cancer, diabetes, psychological trauma, etc.). Transportation costs, medical expenses, and guardian accommodation expenses are covered by the World Bank staff insurance.

A Ministry of Economy and Finance official stated, "Korea's medical technology is internationally recognized and can contribute to expanding inbound medical exports," adding, "In the future, the government will fully utilize the brand power of Korean medical care (K-health) secured as a K-quarantine and WB emergency medical designated country to seek international cooperation plans linked to enhancing economic outcomes." The official further added, "In particular, we plan to prepare whole-of-government cooperation measures by mobilizing various external economic policy tools such as official development assistance (ODA) to strengthen support for health-vulnerable countries, trade, and promotion, and continuously develop plans to enhance exports and competitiveness in the health and medical sectors."

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