The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) is shifting from its traditional quarantine system focused on preventing infectious disease importation to a traveler health-centered quarantine system. This initiative is part of President Lee Jae-myung’s national policy task of improving infectious disease crisis response, with full institutionalization targeted by 2027. The KDCA plans to introduce AI-based quarantine systems, provide customized health information for travelers, and strengthen hygiene management for transportation vehicles.
The KDCA will establish an integrated health information platform called ‘Travel Health Alert e’ by next year, offering pre-, during, and post-travel health information. This platform will consolidate country-specific health advisories, quarantine management areas, vaccination guidance, and quarantine information, with enhanced search and consultation features. Information services will also be expanded to outbound travelers, and customized alerts will be sent via KakaoTalk and SMS to travelers from certain quarantine management areas.
An AI and data-driven voluntary reporting system for quarantine purposes will also be introduced. The ‘AI Quarantine Officer’ system, incorporating AIoT (Artificial Intelligence and Internet of Things), will be developed by next year to support quarantine investigations by linking traveler data with overseas infectious disease surveillance information. A multilingual system will facilitate symptom reporting by foreign travelers, with a pilot program scheduled to begin at Gimhae Airport in the second half of next year. In addition, a response system linking airports and ports with specialized medical institutions will be established to ensure rapid treatment for travelers who develop symptoms after arrival.
Hygiene management of transportation vehicles will also be strengthened. The process for issuing the Ship Sanitation Certificate (SSC), an international standard for ship hygiene, will be standardized starting next year, and on-site inspection equipment will be introduced. The inspection fee will be tripled to ensure fairness with international standards. The KDCA is also pushing for amendments to the Quarantine Act to manage aircraft hygiene at levels similar to those for ships, with a response plan for disease vector importation via aircraft to be finalized by 2027. In preparation for future pandemics, an integrated quarantine management manual covering all processes from quarantine response to personnel deployment, testing, isolation, and transportation will be completed by next year. The agency also plans to enhance public communication through partnerships with private platforms and expand the use of experiential digital content. A proposal to designate a national ‘Quarantine Day’ as a legal commemorative day centered on public participation is also under consideration.