Korean Rotary gains recognition for COVID fight

By Kang Seung-woo

On the back of Korea's comparatively successful COVID-19 quarantine measures early last year, Yoo Jang-hee, the governor of Rotary District 3650 based in northern Seoul, launched efforts to fight the coronavirus right after taking office last July.

Based on the nation's “K-Quarantine,” or infectious disease prevention and control, he made a manual to help his fellow Rotarians around the world protect themselves and their fellow members from the pandemic, in the process receiving rave reviews for its content.

“Given that Rotary International (RI) has greatly contributed to eradicating polio, I suggested the 'End Corona Rotary Initiative' (ECRI) to local Rotary clubs and RI, which was lauded as a good idea,” Yoo said in an interview with The Korea Times, Tuesday.

According to Rotary, the international service organization has been working to eradicate polio for more than 35 years, contributing more than $2.1 billion and countless volunteer hours to protect nearly 3 billion children in 122 countries from the paralyzing disease.

“First of all, taking preventive measures against COVID-19 was important until reliable vaccines become available, so I collected materials about Korea's strong response to the disease and drew up the manual, which was distributed globally,” Yoo said.

“Some said they will use the manual as a benchmark, while others said they applied it as-is to their cases, and it worked.”

Yoo added that he received a lot of letters of thanks from district governors from around the world for sharing the “informative and helpful” document.

With the pandemic dragging on, his Rotary club has stepped up efforts to help those who are hit hard by the virus.

Rotary District 3650, together with Rotary District 3710 based in Gwangju, donated 10 computers to a hospital and a children's center on Cheongsan Island, off the south coast, while providing 10,000 and 15,000 masks to Seongga Bokji Hospital and the Army's Ninth Infantry Division, respectively.

Plus, it financially supported senior citizens who live alone and the International Child Rights Center.

Yoo, a renowned economist who headed the state-run think tank, the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, and served as vice president of Ewha Womans University, also chaired the Korea Commission for Corporate Partnership (KCCP), an organization seeking to address fair practice gaps and conflicts between large and small companies.

The governor said that his experience at the KCCP helped him lead the Rotary club.

“While heading the KCCP, I got accustomed to looking for people who were in need, but placed in blind spots. As a result, I conducted on-site inspections of small-sized companies and tried to narrow gaps between large and small firms, which helped the latter a lot,” he said.

“The KCCP experience led me to think about those who can afford helping their communities that are in need of help, and as soon as I took office last July, I got straight to work.”

He added: “Our goal is to become a Rotary club that more vigorously conducts volunteer activities, rather than just raising funds and donating them.”