Pandemic Priorities: The Impact of South Korea’s COVID-19 Policies on Vulnerable Populations

ABSTRACT

The South Korean government’s COVID-19 policies prioritized effective and efficient containment of the virus, which can accompany the risk of marginalizing vulnerable populations. Using a single-site case study, this research focuses on three main policy approaches by the South Korean government, which were widely cited as relatively successful in containing the COVID-19 outbreak: 1) preventive policies; 2) contact tracing; and 3) testing and relief packages. This study aims to leverage the unique situation of the pandemic to provide new insights into practices in disaster governance, examining how they disproportionally impact vulnerable groups.

KEYWORDS:

• COVID-19
• pandemic governance
• vulnerable populations
• South Korea

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. This study borrows Robert Yin’s (2009, p. 14) definition of a case study, as an “empirical enquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon in depth and within its real-life context.”

2. A wide array of international news sources was utilized, including ABC News, BBC, Economist, Guardian, Japan Times, New York Times, Quartz, South China Morning Post, Voa News, and 15 Korean news sources (Chosun Ilbo, Dong-A Ilbo, Hankook Ilbo, Hankyoreh, Ilda, JoongAng Daily, Kookmin Ilbo, Korea Herald, Kyunghyang Shinmun, Maeil Business News, MoneyToday, OhmyNews, Pressian, Seoul Economy Daily, Yonhap News) across the ideological spectrum that reported on how COVID-19 has impacted the security of SGM, foreign workers, people with disabilities, and the elderly in South Korea. Government documents and policy briefings were also used.

3. The case of Shincheonji, a religious minority, is also added, with regard to the events that occurred in South Korea with the spread of COVID-19.

4. The HRC report found SGM make up about 40% of workers in the restaurant, retail, education, and medical industries, which are classified as occupations greatly impacted by COVID-19. The proportion engaged in the catering industry is 15%, which is particularly high compared to 7% in education/medical and 4% in retail. The restaurant industry has been hit hardest by COVID-19, causing many SGM that were self-employed or working as non-regular or freelance waiters or bartenders to lose jobs (J. Park, 2020).

5. According to the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs, the number of foreign residents in 2018 was 446,000 in Seoul, and 418,000 in Gyeonggi (Nancen Refugee Rights Center, 2020).

6. See Valero et al. (2020) for a review of the role of NGOs in refugee and migrant integration in South Korea.

7. Serikbayeva et al. (2020) present evidence for the critical role of state capacity in achieving positive COVID-19-policy outcomes.

Additional information

Funding

There is no funding to report for this study.