Infect Chemother.  2011 Dec;43(6):474-484. 10.3947/ic.2011.43.6.474.

Public Policy and Laws on Infectious Disease Control in Korea: Past, Present and Prospective

• Chun BC

• KMID: 2170359
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3947/ic.2011.43.6.474

Abstract

The history of modern infectious disease control in Korea could be divided into 4 era by its characteristics; the Opening and Korean Empire era (1896-1910), Japanese Colonial Rule and US military government era (1910-1948), Korean government era before 2000 (1948-2000) and After 2000 (2000-present). In the Opening and Korean Empire era, the first form of communicable disease prevention act was issued in 1899, including the first 6 notifiable communicable diseases in Korea; cholera, smallpox, dysentery, diphtheria and epidemic typus. Before establishment of administrative department for infectious disease, Japanese Colonial Empire took the police power away and set the colonial sanitary police system in 1907. During the Japanese Colonial Rule, the sanitary police system was forcefully active not only to control the epidemics but also fortify the colonial governmentalism. But during the colonial era, the incidence of water-borne diseases like typhoid fever and dysentery had increased, and the respiratory diseases both diphtheria and tuberculosis also had increased. This forceful sanitary police system had influenced the communicable prevention act and health policy for over 50 years after the colonial era. In 1954 the Korean government proclaimed the communicable prevention act. Since then the government increased the number of national notifiable diseases and refined the related acts by public needs. In 2000, the communicable prevention act was fully amended to satisfy the modern public health principles not the sanitary policy rules. And the revised act named 'Infectious Diseases Control and Prevention Act' was proclaimed in 2010. The globalization, emerging and re-emerging infectious disease, climate change, change of health behavior, development information technology, unification of Korean peninsula would be the next challenges of infectious disease control and prevention in Korea.

Keyword

Communicable diseases prevention act; Sanitary; Public policy; History; Korea

MeSH Terms

Asian Continental Ancestry Group
Cholera
Climate Change
Communicable Diseases
Communicable Diseases, Emerging
Diphtheria
Dysentery
Health Behavior
Health Policy
Humans
Incidence
Internationality
Jurisprudence
Korea
Military Personnel
Police
Public Health
Public Policy
Smallpox
Tuberculosis
Typhoid Fever

Figure

• 

  Figure 1 Incidence rate of Typhoid fever and Dysentery from 1911 to 1939.

• 

  Figure 2 Incidence rate of Diphtheria and Scarlet fever from 1911 to 1939.

• 

  Figure 3 Incidence rate of Small Pox from 1911 to 1939.

Reference

1. Shin DW. History of modern healthcare in Korea. 1997. Seoul: Hanul Academy;120–123.

2. Chun MJ. The establishment and operation of Sunhwaweon during the Japanese Colonial Rule. J Korean Mod Contemp Hist. 2011. 57:33–59.

3. Korean Society of Infectious Diseases. History of infectious disease in Korea. 2009. Seoul: Koonja Publishing Co.;324–333.

4. Shin DW. History of modern healthcare in Korea. 1997. Seoul: Hanul Academy;143–144.

5. Jung KS. Formation, change and legacy of the colonial sanitary police in modern Korea. Soc Hist. 2011. 90:221–270.

6. Lee HS. Colonial sanitary policy and Chosun society in 1910; focus on communicable diseases prevention act. Proceeding of 9th International Conference of Korean Japan Study Association. 2011. 558–561.

7. Shin DW. Germ theory and criticism of colonial modernity. Crit Rev Hist. 2002. 58:341–363.

8. Meng KH. One hundred years' history of public health activities in Korea. Korean J Med Hist. 1999. 8:127–136.

9. Park IS. An analysis on the health administration of the Chosun government: general in Korea under the rule of Japan-with a special reference to the activities for extermination of epidemic diseases. J Public Welf Adm. 2003. 13:132–158.

10. Korean Statistics before 1945, Korean statistical information service. Accessed 15 December 2011. Available at: http://kosis.kr/feature/feature_03List.jsp.

11. Kim JS. Health and Diseases of Koreans. 2001. Seoul: Shin Kwang Publishing Co.;36–45.

12. Whang CY, Ohr HC, Lee DH, Park KD. The amendment tendency analysis of the Korean Infectious Disease Prevention Act and a recommendation for the next amendment. Korean J Prev Med. 1998. 31:540–563.

13. Chun CH. Our preventive law of communicable disease is amendable. J Korean Med Assoc. 1975. 18:181–185.

14. Choi KW. Re-consideration of notifiable communicable diseases. J Korean Med Assoc. 1994. 37:12–18.

15. Kim JS. Re-classification of notifiable communicable diseases in Korea. J Korean Med Assoc. 1997. 40:386–390.

16. Jeong EK. Surveillance and management of notifiable communicable disease. J Korean Med Assoc. 2002. 45:750–762.

17. Lee DH, Park K. Revision of international health regulation and task of improving communicable disease control and quarantine system in the republic of Korea. J Korean Med Assoc. 2005. 48:784–794.

18. Lee EY, Lee MJ, Lee SK. A study on the reform of communicable disease control and quarantine system in compliance with the revision of the international health regulation. Korean J Med Law. 2006. 14:47–67.

19. Park IK, Kim SY, Lee SG. Study on analysis of quarantine legislations and systems in australia for building an integrative quarantine system. Korean J Med Law. 2011. 19:161–187.