PandemicPreparedness

Updated: September 2025

• Mpox
• Bird Flu
• COVID-19
• MERS-CoV
• Pandemic Preparedness

Mpox

The country reported the first case of mpox in June 2022.

Vaccination: Vaccine availability is under government control and available only at designated hospitals and public health centers; National Medical Center, Joong-Gu Public Health Center, and Severance Hospital in Seoul and Sasang-Gu Public Health Center in Busan.

The eligibility for vaccination is for high-risk individuals including foreign nationals and long-term visitors registered in South Korea. Short-term visitors might qualify if there’s a medical necessity.

Useful website: Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Bird Flu

H5N1 was first detected in December 2003. Outbreaks have been sporadically reported in wild birds and poultry. H5N1 has also been detected in mammals, including domestic cats in 2023 and a wild cat in 2025.
H5N3 was first detected in November 2024.
H5N6 was first detected in November 2016.
H5N8 was first detected in January 2014 among domestic poultry.
H5N9 was first detected in November 2025.

COVID-19

The first imported cases were identified on 20 January 2020.

The latest updates on COVID-19 in South Korea can be found on the Ministry of Health website.

MERS-CoV

The largest outbreak of MERS-CoV outside the Middle East occurred in 2015. The outbreak started from a single imported case; a 68-year-old man who had returned from travel in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar was confirmed infected with MERS-CoV on 19 May. He had visited a number of healthcare facilities before the diagnosis was made. In total, 186 cases occurred (with 38 fatalities), all through human-to-human spread, mostly through healthcare facilities. The first case in China was also linked to this cluster.

There were at least three generations of spread. More than 80 healthcare facilities were affected. In all, over 16,000 people were monitored in voluntary and mandatory quarantine. Although the last case was confirmed in July, a number of patients remained hospitalised for ongoing complications. The last patient passed away from MERS-CoV on 25 November, after the longest known duration of infection of 172 days. The outbreak was officially declared over in South Korea on 23 December 2015.

In September 2018, a 61-year-old man who returned from Kuwait was diagnosed with MERS-CoV.

PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS