The COVID-19 Pandemic Response and Its Impact on Post-Corona Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management in Republic of Korea

• Published in: Sustainability Vol. 15; no. 4; p. 3175
• Main Authors: Park, Jaeyoung, Min, Jeehee, Song, Ji-Hun, Park, Min Young, Yoo, Hyoungseob, Kwon, Ohwi, Yang, Munyoung, Kim, Seoyoung, Lee, Jongin, Myong, Jun-Pyo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.02.2023
• Subjects: Control; Coronaviruses; Correctional institutions; COVID-19; Disaster management; Disasters; Emergency management; Emergency medicine; Emergency preparedness; Emergency response; Epidemics; Health care facilities; Health care policy; Health risks; Health services; Hospital facilities; Human resources; Knowledge management; Learned societies; Logistics; Medical personnel; Medical research; Methods; Occupational health; Occupational safety; Pandemics; Public health; Religion; Risk communication; Risk management; South Korea; Sustainability; South Korea; California
• ISSN: 2071-1050; 2071-1050
• DOI: 10.3390/su15043175

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted the Republic of Korea’s Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management (Health-EDRM). This study aims to examine the Republic of Korea’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on Health-EDRM, especially human resources, health services, and logistics. Challenges in the Republic of Korea, including lack of medical workforce, confused risk communication, shortage of hospital beds, and inefficient distribution of medical resources, have been highlighted in this paper in terms of human resources, health service delivery, and logistics, which are components of Health-EDRM. It is essential to address the cooperation between the government and private sectors, the protection of occupational health and safety of medical staff during the pandemic, and strategies and technologies to scale up the health facilities, to respond to a future crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic.