Translated KCDC Graphic
#19,044
South Korea continues to be openly proactive in their preparations for the next pandemic threat:
- Eighteen months ago, in South Korea CDC Releases Revised ‘Influenza Pandemic Preparedness and Response Plan’, warning “In the event of a new or variant influenza pandemic, it can surpass COVID-19”.
- Last September, in South Korea Conducted A 19-day, Nationwide, Mock-Training Exercise to Prepare for Zoonotic Influenza.
- Last December, South Korea was one of 31 Asian countries to participate in WPRO Table-Top Exercise Crystal: A `Bovine' Novel Flu Outbreak Scenario
- And we are currently watching some of the most aggressive culling and quarantine operations on the planet with with their triple outbreak of HPAI, ASF, and FMD on South Korean farms.
A year ago, South Korea instituted a voluntary respiratory testing pilot program at two airports (Gimpo and Jeju), which was expanded to 5 more by mid summer.
Today, based on their success, they are announcing the program will expanded to 13 airports and ports nationwide, starting February 10th. This comes a week before the Lunar New Year, and the height of the spring travel season.
While a few other countries (including the United States) have set up limited screening programs in a few select ports of entry, few are as sophisticated or as extensive as the system now in place in South Korea.
I've reproduced the (translated) KCDC press release below. I'll have a bit more after the break.
The "Traveler Respiratory Disease Testing Service" will be expanded to 13 airports and ports nationwide (Friday, February 6).Date of writing February 6, 2026
Last modified date February 6, 2026
Department in charge Quarantine Policy and
contact 043-719-9216
- The "Traveler Respiratory Disease Testing Service" has been expanded to 13 airports and ports nationwide.
- Free testing will be provided to all arrivals with respiratory infection symptoms starting February 10th.
- Health insurance benefits are applicable when you visit a medical institution with a positive test result.
【Related National Policy Tasks】 84. Eliminate regional disparities, expand essential medical services, and strengthen public health care.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) (Director Seung-Kwan Lim) will expand the "Traveler Respiratory Infectious Disease Testing Service" to 13 quarantine stations (12 branch offices) at airports and ports nationwide, starting February 10, 2026.
This project has been piloted at Gimpo and Jeju Airports since February 2025, followed by Gimhae Airport (April), Daegu and Cheongju Airports, and Busan and Incheon Ports (July). Based on comprehensive considerations of the operational results, traveler awareness surveys, and on-site conditions, the project will be expanded nationwide.
< Overview of Traveler Respiratory Infection Testing Services >
division
Key ContentsTranslated KCDC Graphic
Target audience
Only those who wish to be tested among symptomatic overseas arrivals at the airport and those without epidemiological links
Inspection location
Quarantine station , overseas infectious disease reporting center, etc.
Inspection items
Animal influenza human infection (AI), COVID -19, influenza A/B (3 types )
Inspection method
PCR and genomic analysis of positive samples
< Intention to use ' Free Quarantine Testing ' >
< Reasons for using ' Free Quarantine Testing ' >Translated KCDC Graphics
Through this project, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) is proactively monitoring new and mutated pathogens entering the country. According to pathogen analysis results from 2025, 18 COVID-19 cases and 53 influenza cases (51 A and 2 B) were detected out of a total of 169 cases. Genomic analysis has identified COVID-19 subtypes (e.g., NB.1.8.1) and influenza subtypes (H1N1, H3N2, B (Victoria)), and ongoing monitoring is underway.
Meanwhile, according to the results of a survey on awareness of quarantine services conducted on 530 adult men and women in their 20s to 60s who have traveled abroad within the past year (November 25), 9 out of 10 respondents (88.9%) expressed their intention to use free quarantine testing if they develop symptoms of an infectious disease at the entry stage, confirming that there is high public demand for quarantine services.
< Results of a survey on awareness of free quarantine testing >
If an inbound traveler with respiratory infectious disease symptoms such as a cough wishes to be tested, he or she can receive free testing for three types of respiratory infectious diseases (COVID-19, influenza A/B, and animal influenza human infection (AI)) at the quarantine station quarantine desk or overseas infectious disease reporting center.
Test results will be individually notified via text message or email. If your test result is positive, you can receive National Health Insurance benefits by visiting a medical institution with a certificate of positive test result issued by the quarantine station.
Lim Seung-kwan, director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, said, “Through this nationwide expansion, we plan to strengthen the surveillance system for respiratory infectious diseases imported from overseas and establish a response foundation linked to the domestic infectious disease surveillance system by detecting new and mutated pathogens early.” He also asked, “In particular, if you have respiratory symptoms during the Lunar New Year holiday, please participate in protecting the safety of your family and neighbors by taking a simple test before returning home.”
Long-time followers of infectious disease outbreaks will recall that South Korea was badly burned in the summer of 2015 by an international traveler who arrived from the Middle East carrying MERS-CoV - which subsequently:
- forced the quarantining of > 16,000 people
- the closure of 2,400 schools and 22 Universities
- spread through 17 hospitals
- was confirmed in 186 people (185 in the Republic of Korea and 1 in China),
- resulting in 38 deaths
- and the loss of billions of dollars