Administrator Ji Young-mi of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said in her New Year's address on the 2nd, "Our goal is to be a Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency that protects public health in daily life and works together with the people."
Administrator Ji emphasized the need for proactive preparation against new infectious diseases. He noted, "We will continue our efforts to strengthen national capabilities in infection disease surveillance, preparedness and response, recovery, and research and development to fulfill the mid- to long-term plan for new infectious disease preparedness and the pandemic influenza response plan." He added, "We will double our efforts for enhancing infection disease response capabilities, including advancing infection disease surveillance systems and medical response systems, securing quarantine personnel, and conducting integrated simulation training for pandemic response involving multiple ministries, local governments, and medical institutions in order to assess and enhance national response capabilities."
He also announced plans to strengthen chronic disease prevention management and advance health survey systems, as society has recently entered an era of ultra-aging.
Administrator Ji pledged to elevate the agency as a national research and development hub leading health and medical research. He said, "We will prioritize the development support project for messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) vaccines, which are key technologies for future pandemic preparedness and response, and we will conduct health and medical research to adapt to social and environmental changes, including the establishment of the National Institute of Aging and research in sex-based medicine." He added, "We will plan research and development (R&D) led by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, centering on the Disease Data Science Analyst position established last year."
He also revealed plans to lead global health security and public health. Administrator Ji stated, "We will share the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's project outcomes in infection disease preparedness and response, chronic disease research, and health care research with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the international community." He noted, "We will also enhance the operations of the Global Health Security Coordination Office (GHSCO), which has been selected as a success case by the International Association of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI)."