Page 25 - 2020 Defence White Paper

Special
Appendix COVID-19 Response of the ROK Armed Forces
05

1. COVID-19 Response System of the ROK Armed Forces

| Response System of the MND and Each Service | Recognizing the COVID-19 incident as a "war-like
situation", the ROK Armed Forces focused all of their efforts to overcome the national disaster by means
such as preventing the inflow and spread within the military and providing support for the government-
wide response to the pandemic.
In January 2020, as the health authorities elevated the crisis alert level from Yellow to Orange, the MND
immediately activated the MND Countermeasures Headquarters for 24/7 operations as the infectious
disease control tower. In February when the alert level was elevated to Red due to mass infections in
Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, the Headquarters was further expanded and reorganized into
the "MND COVID-19 Countermeasures Headquarters". Later, in July, the "COVID-19 Emergency
Response Team" was formed as an official organization to control the situation in a stable manner in
recognition of the need for a rapid, professional response to urgent issues with the pandemic persisting
over a long period of time. Each service and the Armed Forces Medical Command (AFMC) also launched
their own headquarters for epidemic control to contain the inflow and spread of COVID-19.
The MND held meetings twice a day (morning and afternoon) to identify the status of response against

<MND COVID-19 Countermeasures Headquarters>

Director
Minister

Vice Director
Vice Minister
Deputy Director
Deputy Minister for
Personnel and Welfare
COVID-19 Emergency
Response Team
Director General, Health and
Welfare Bureau (adjunct)

Personnel Mobilization Health Group Education and Training Logistics Support Group Public Relations Group
Group Group
Personnel Planning Health and Welfare Policy Planning Bureau Logistics Management Office of Spokesperson
Bureau Bureau Bureau
(Installations Planning Bureau)

Appendix