[Press Release, May 7, 2020 / unofficial translation ]



Private/Public Sectors Work Together for International Standardization of K-Quarantine Model
- 1st Conference on International Standardization of K-Quarantine Model -


□ The government has initiated the “Public/Private Sector Experts Conference” for the international standardization of the “K-Quarantine Model,” which contains Korea’s exemplary responses to various infectious diseases, and is holding the 1st “Policy Conference” at Seoul’s The-K Hotel (Geomungo A Hall) at 4 p.m. on May 8th.

○ The conference is composed of a “Policy Council” that decides policy directions such as a roadmap for international standardization and a “Working Group” in charge of reviewing international standardization proposals, etc.
○ The “Policy Council” is composed of a total of 20 persons (refer to reference material for a list), including government officials from related departments* including the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (Korean Agency for Technology and Standards), Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and Korean Intellectual Property Office, and private-sector experts in the medical, academic, and business fields.
* The head of the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards took the position of chairperson. Director-General-level officials of related departments will participate as council members, and official(s) from the Office for Government Policy Coordination also took part in the council.
○ The participating experts from the private sector include not only those in the field of infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, screening center (drive thru, walk thru, etc.) proposers/operators and experts on international standards in the medical field,
○ but also businesses connected with test kits/screening centers, experts in information communication, including mobile app development, and experts on standard essential patents.


□ The Working Group is mainly composed of on-site working-level personnel who will review standard proposals for each stage of infectious disease response (testing/confirmed diagnosis → epidemiology/tracking →quarantine/treatment), and

○ and shall carry out sharing of international standard technical council (TC) trends, composition/review of standard proposal, etc.


□ At the 1st “Policy Conference,” opinions were collected on a draft roadmap to propel the international standardization of the “K-Quarantine Model” in 18 areas, such as screening center operation procedures, reference model for the operation of community treatment centers, etc.,

○ and there are plans to give shape to the international standards (proposals) necessary for each field and propose them sequentially to international standardization organizations such as the ISO.


□ The plans for future Policy Conference(s) are to swiftly discuss requirements including tuning standard policy from each department, discussing proposed budgets, etc. and actively support the work of the Working Group

○ The Working Group will hold meetings according to the progress in each international standard
○ and make full use of teleconferencing, SNS chat rooms, and meetings through writing so that experts in the council do not face any setbacks in terms of the COVID-19 prevention tasks.


□ On this day, the participants of the Policy Council joined together with one will: “The private/public sectors will run together to contribute to the prevention of global infectious disease spread and the globalization of our bio-industry through the international standardization of the K-quarantine model.”


□ Lee Seung-woo, the administrator of the Korean Agency for Technology and Standards, emphasized that “the propulsion of the international standardization of the K-Quarantine Model will become an opportunity for Korea to share its technology and experience in the COVID-19 response with the international community as a common intellectual asset of mankind and emerge as a powerhouse in the fields of of the health care.”

○ In particular, he said, “Korea, currently garnering attention and gaining trust in the international community, is at the right moment to engage in international standardization. Thus, we pledge to work together closely with related governmental departments and international organizations so that the K-Disease Prevention Model can achieve recognition as an international reference model.”