Parties recycling election pledges on public health

Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC) Director Jung Eun-kyeong speaks during a press conference at KCDC headquarters in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province, April 6. Rival parties are vowing to elevate the status of the KCDC to create a more effective control tower for infectious diseases. The KCDC directorship is a vice-ministerial post. Yonhap

By Do Je-hae

The COVID-19 crisis has put public health issues at the forefront of voters' attention ahead of the April 15 general election.

Ever since the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) back in 2015, experts have raised the need for policies to better prepare for national crises caused by infectious diseases.

But even with COVID-19's sweeping impact on various aspects of Korean society, the political parties have been slow to come up with effective policy responses for their campaign platforms.

When looking at the election pledges from the rival parties, voters complain that many of them are just repeating the promises made during the 2015 MERS epidemic, which lack detail.

A major problem is that the parties' pledges overlap, making it almost impossible for voters to determine which party is better prepared to deliver on their promise to build a safer, healthier society.

The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and other parties are recycling past proposals to give more authority to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC), which serves as the control tower for handling infectious diseases.

The KCDC has received global attention recently due to the tireless leadership of its director Jung Eun-kyeong but the COVID-19 pandemic has renewed attention on the need to give more authority to the KCDC to increase its effectiveness in handling health emergencies. The KCDC is currently an affiliated organization of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, which controls the personnel and budgetary affairs of the KCDC.

The DPK and opposition parties, including the main opposition United Future Party (UFP), minor Justice Party and the People's Party, all say that separation of the KCDC from the ministry is necessary to ensure rapid policy-making.

The DPK has also proposed the reorganization of the health ministry to increase its capacity for dealing with health emergencies by creating a couple of high-level ministerial posts.

But there is skepticism about the realization of these proposals, which are almost identical to those included in President Moon Jae-in's 2017 presidential election pledges.

Moon has placed priority on public health and safety, but his pledge to increase the independence of the KCDC has yet to make any visible headway and did not get much attention at the National Assembly until the COVID-19 event. The government has begun to show more interest in the KCDC's separation recently after unanimous calls from parties.

“It is desirable to elevate its status as an independent agency,” Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said during a press conference in Daegu last month.

Besides the KCDC issue, the UFP has also proposed the establishment of hospitals specializing in infectious diseases. The DPK has made similar proposals in the past, but has not been able to realize such plans.

The UFP also made pledges to improve childcare services for working parents during health crises and tax refunds for the purchase of sanitary items such as masks.