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Interview
Success with Fighting COVID-19

On April 3, 2020, the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) conducted a telephone interview with Dr. Bernhard Seliger, representative of Hanns Seidel Foundation in Korea (HSF.) The topic was the South Korean success in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) still has a firm grip on global public life. Countries such as Italy, Spain or France have general curfews. Germany and Austria also have strong initial restrictions. Almost the entire European economy is at a standstill. Only vital shops, such as supermarkets and pharmacies, are allowed to remain open. By April 7, more than 1,350,000 people were infected and nearly 74,000 died.

 

South Korea is regarded as an example for the successful fight against COVID-19. In order to understand the success of the East Asian country, ORF conducted a telephone interview with Dr. Seliger from HSF Korea, who is generally regarded as an expert for the Korean peninsula, on April 3. "They have achieved great success in this difficult situation”, Seliger said. South Korea could be regarded as a kind of island that can only be reached by air or sea. Because of this, new arrivals can be checked and registered before they even enter the country. Furthermore, social distancing is not a big problem for South Koreans, because for example shaking hands is unusual and wearing masks is common.

 

But also the use of trekking contributes much to the success of the country, explains the representative of HSF Korea. Infected persons could be isolated immediately. Owners of South Korean mobile phones are regularly informed of the last location of infected persons without being asked, so that these places can be avoided. Asked whether this would not massively impair data protection and thus fundamental rights, Seliger referred to the current situation in Germany: Companies here are no longer allowed to produce and public life has been almost completely shut down. “You can no longer visit your mother in the nursing home”. In proportion, fundamental rights would be more affected in Germany than in South Korea.

The interview is only available in German.

 

Seliger has informed about the global COVID-19 situation on 27 March 2020 in the programme "NEWS IN-DEPTH" from the news channel Arirang TV. Furthermore, he published an article about the situation in North Korea in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic for the business magazine "Korean-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry"(KORUM). Link to article.

 

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