How South Korea flattened the curve, and who pays the bill

Woo Seoc-Gyun — 2020-04-24T11:39:27Z

As of April 19, South Korea is reporting 10,661 confirmed coronavirus cases and 234 Covid-19 deaths. The country has been widely praised for its relative success in flattening the infection curve and South Koreans rewarded President Moon Jae-in's Democratic Party with a landslide victory last week. According to the Guardian, “Moon's left-leaning Democratic party and its smaller affiliate won 180 seats in the 300-seat assembly – the biggest majority in the national assembly by any party since South Korea's transition to democracy in 1987 – according to the Yonhap news agency. The conservative opposition United Future party and its smaller sister party won 103 seats. Turnout was 66.2%, higher than any parliamentary elections held in South Korea since 1992.”

At the same time, coronavirus remains prevalent in South Korea and the danger of new outbreaks are real. And while South Korea has succeeded in flattening the curse, it cannot avoid the global economic crisis that is escalating in its wake, as the Economist reports, “the IMF expects the South Korean economy will shrink by 1.2 per cent this year, down from an earlier forecast of 2.2 per cent growth.”

- IV543 - April 2020 / South Korea, Covid-19 Pandemic

International Viewpoint - online socialist magazine

How South Korea flattened the curve, and who pays the bill