[Opinion] The Dream of 'Scientific Quarantine' That Flew Away into the Void

The public’s expectations for expert- and data-driven ‘scientific quarantine’ have withered away. In fact, even five months after the new government took office, the substance of the scientific and precise quarantine that the president confidently promised remains elusive. Aside from mandatory indoor mask-wearing and isolation of confirmed cases, there is hardly anything that can be called a quarantine policy. Rather, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) is drawing growing criticism for indiscriminately ‘plagiarizing’ the failed quarantine policies of the previous administration, pushing citizens into the risk of fending for themselves.

The ‘K-quarantine’ that the previous government boasted about endlessly ended in a disastrous failure. Currently, South Korea’s cumulative confirmed cases have surpassed 25 million, ranking sixth in the world after the United States, India, France, Brazil, and Germany. 48.8% of the population has been confirmed infected. The fact that the death toll stands at 28,723, ranking 37th worldwide, offers some consolation.

The KDCA’s diagnosis of the failure of K-quarantine is inadequate. The criticism that biased policies ignoring expert opinions and excessive social distancing focused on control turned K-quarantine into ‘political quarantine’ is too superficial. It is true that uniform control measures were irrational and their side effects were excessively severe. However, it is also true that it was difficult to find any country that implemented sufficiently rational and appropriate quarantine policies against the suddenly emerging highly toxic COVID-19.

In fact, the core of political quarantine lay elsewhere. The previous government, desperate with the rapidly approaching presidential election, pushed forward ‘return to normal life’ even appointing a private sector chairman, which nullified the achievements of K-quarantine. Rumors abounded that the Blue House’s quarantine officer and social affairs secretary were the real quarantine control towers. This was the aftermath of the Prime Minister taking the lead and sidelining KDCA Director Jeong Eun-kyeong.

The result was disastrous. The ‘quarantine pass,’ mimicking Europe’s vaccine pass, was packaged as a brilliant idea and disarmed the public. The Delta variant, which began spreading from summer, and the timely influx of Omicron combined to worsen the situation to the worst. Around the March presidential election, daily confirmed cases exceeded 400,000.

The COVID-19 situation remains unstable. Following February and July, confirmed cases in Europe are rapidly increasing again. On the 10th, cases surpassed 490,000. Having experienced surges in March and August, one month later than Europe, South Korea cannot help but worry.

The KDCA, which emphasizes scientific and precise quarantine, is losing public trust. The leadership of the KDCA director, who has no administrative experience, is being questioned. It is absurd that the National Assembly was told that the KDCA monitors the situation by reading newspapers. The agency cannot explain why it insists on indoor mask-wearing and uniform isolation mandates. This stubbornness contradicts survey results showing an antibody positivity rate of 98%. It also fails to prepare reasonable measures for citizens who have experienced vaccine side effects.

The media reports that the disappearance of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters led by the Prime Minister and the Central Disease Control Headquarters led by the Minister of Health and Welfare is fortunate. However, the mysterious ‘National Infectious Disease Crisis Response Advisory Committee’ and the hastily assembled ‘COVID-19 Special Response Team’ are clear failures. The chairman’s reckless remarks, mistaking himself for Korea’s ‘Fauci,’ were far from scientific quarantine.

Lee Deok-hwan, Professor Emeritus at Sogang University (Chemistry and Science Communication)

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