As of August 28, 2023, confirmed coronavirus (COVID-19) patients in their forties made up the largest share of patients in South Korea, amounting to around 15.2 percent of all positive cases. The first wave lasted until April, with the second wave following in August of 2020. This was further followed by a fourth wave, driven by the delta and omicron variants. Though the country has since achieved high vaccination rates, the omicron variant led to record new daily cases in 2022.

Patient profile

In South Korea, the infection rate of coronavirus was the highest among people in the twenties due to their social activities. Indeed, the new infections related to the clubgoers in Seoul are likely to increase the infection rate between young people. 158 out of 261 clubgoer-related confirmed patients were in teenagers or in their twenties, and 36 patients were in their thirties. The mortality rate of coronavirus by age group was somewhat different from the age distribution of total infection cases. It was highest among people in their eighties, with this group making up around 59.6 percent of deaths related to the coronavirus in South Korea. Mortality declined with each younger age group.

Daily life changes

In South Korea, a new policy of "With Corona" has been launched in order to ease society back into a new norm of living with the virus, without having too many restrictions in place. This is based on high vaccination rates, and includes strict quarantine measures for those who are infected and their close contacts. There are plans to improve the verification of vaccination and test certificates for use in public spaces. Most South Koreans have responded to rising numbers by once again avoiding crowded places or going out. It is common to wear masks regardless of diseases, so people are continuing to wear masks when they need to go out. Also, people prefer to do online shopping than physical shopping, and online sales of food and health-related products have increased by more than 700 percent compared to last year. Spending on living, cooking, and furniture has increased significantly as people spend more time at home.

South Korea recorded 31415280 Coronavirus Cases since the epidemic began, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In addition, South Korea reported 34610 Coronavirus Deaths. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for South Korea Coronavirus Cases.

South Korea recorded 147693 Coronavirus Recovered since the epidemic began, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). In addition, South Korea reported 4456 Coronavirus Deaths. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for South Korea Coronavirus Recovered.

As of August 1, 2021, over 11.7 million coronavirus (COVID-19) tests were conducted in South Korea. South Korea succeeded in flattening the infection curve by rapidly conducting extensive tests immediately in the early stages and exported medical products and hygiene products to other countries. However, from July 2021, Korea has been dealing with a fourth wave because of the spread of the delta variant and low vaccination numbers. As of August 13, 2021, South Korea confirmed 220,182 cases of infection including 2,144 deaths.

For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

In past 24 hours, S. Korea, Asia had N/A new cases, N/A deaths and N/A recoveries.

The number of COVID-19 vaccination doses administered per 100 people in South Korea rose to 250 as of Oct 27 2023. This dataset includes a chart with historical data for South Korea Coronavirus Vaccination Rate.

This data package includes the underlying data files to replicate the data, tables, and charts presented in How did Korea’s fiscal accounts fare during the COVID-19 pandemic? PIIE Policy Brief 23-8.

If you use the data, please cite as: Gagnon, Joseph E., and Asher Rose. 2023. How did Korea’s fiscal accounts fare during the COVID-19 pandemic? PIIE Policy Brief 23-8. Washington, DC: Peterson Institute for International Economics.

South Korea KCDC: COVID-19: Patients: 0000H: Con: QDH: Gyeonggi data was reported at 0.000 Person in 07 Mar 2020. This stayed constant from the previous number of 0.000 Person for 06 Mar 2020. South Korea KCDC: COVID-19: Patients: 0000H: Con: QDH: Gyeonggi data is updated daily, averaging 0.000 Person from Feb 2020 (Median) to 07 Mar 2020, with 13 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.000 Person in 07 Mar 2020 and a record low of 0.000 Person in 07 Mar 2020. South Korea KCDC: COVID-19: Patients: 0000H: Con: QDH: Gyeonggi data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The data is categorized under High Frequency Database’s Disease Outbreaks – Table KR.D001: Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-2019) (Discontinued).

Change in quality of life due to COVID-19.

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) country report analyses how the pandemic will impact retail spend in South Korea. Read More

Total people vaccinated against Covid in South Korea, March, 2023 The most recent value is 44800000 total people vaccinated as of March 2023, no change compared to the previous value of 44800000 total people vaccinated. Historically, the average for South Korea from February 2021 to March 2023 is 35049110 total people vaccinated. The minimum of 41959 total people vaccinated was recorded in February 2021, while the maximum of 44800000 total people vaccinated was reached in July 2022. | TheGlobalEconomy.com

Change in participation due to COVID-19.

KCDC: COVID-19: Patients: 0000H: Con: EOI: Gyeongbuk data was reported at 4.000 Person in 21 Apr 2021. This stayed constant from the previous number of 4.000 Person for 20 Apr 2021. KCDC: COVID-19: Patients: 0000H: Con: EOI: Gyeongbuk data is updated daily, averaging 0.000 Person from Feb 2020 (Median) to 21 Apr 2021, with 401 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 4.000 Person in 21 Apr 2021 and a record low of 0.000 Person in 30 Jan 2021. KCDC: COVID-19: Patients: 0000H: Con: EOI: Gyeongbuk data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The data is categorized under High Frequency Database’s Disease Outbreaks – Table KR.D001: Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-2019) (Discontinued).

Change in physical activity due to COVID-19.

WHO: COVID-2019: Number of Patients: Death: To-Date: South Korea data was reported at 35,934.000 Person in 24 Dec 2023. This stayed constant from the previous number of 35,934.000 Person for 23 Dec 2023. WHO: COVID-2019: Number of Patients: Death: To-Date: South Korea data is updated daily, averaging 5,909.500 Person from Jan 2020 (Median) to 24 Dec 2023, with 1436 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 35,934.000 Person in 24 Dec 2023 and a record low of 0.000 Person in 19 Feb 2020. WHO: COVID-2019: Number of Patients: Death: To-Date: South Korea data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Health Organization. The data is categorized under High Frequency Database’s Disease Outbreaks – Table WHO.D002: World Health Organization: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-2019): by Country and Region (Discontinued).

South Korea KCDC: COVID-19: Patients: 0000H: Con: SDC: Jeonnam data was reported at 1.000 Person in 21 Apr 2021. This stayed constant from the previous number of 1.000 Person for 20 Apr 2021. South Korea KCDC: COVID-19: Patients: 0000H: Con: SDC: Jeonnam data is updated daily, averaging 1.000 Person from Feb 2020 (Median) to 21 Apr 2021, with 422 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1.000 Person in 21 Apr 2021 and a record low of 0.000 Person in 06 Mar 2020. South Korea KCDC: COVID-19: Patients: 0000H: Con: SDC: Jeonnam data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency. The data is categorized under High Frequency Database’s Disease Outbreaks – Table KR.D001: Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-2019) (Discontinued).

Covid positive rate in South Korea, June, 2022 The most recent value is 0.09 rate as of June 2022, a decline compared to the previous value of 0.23 rate. Historically, the average for South Korea from February 2020 to June 2022 is 0.06 rate. The minimum of 0 rate was recorded in May 2020, while the maximum of 0.53 rate was reached in April 2022. | TheGlobalEconomy.com

Change in depression due to COVID-19.

Total Covid cases per million people in South Korea, March, 2023 The most recent value is 594802 cases per million as of March 2023, an increase compared to the previous value of 589125 cases per million. Historically, the average for South Korea from February 2020 to March 2023 is 160055 cases per million. The minimum of 57 cases per million was recorded in February 2020, while the maximum of 594802 cases per million was reached in March 2023. | TheGlobalEconomy.com

Results data for the thesis on estimating the age-, sex-, cause-specific excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong and South Korea.Thesis abstractBackgroundFew studies used a consistent methodology and adjusted for the risk of influenza-like illness (ILI) in historical mortality trends when estimating and comparing the cause-specific excess mortality (EM) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous studies demonstrated that excess mortality was widely reported from CVD and among the elderly. This study aims to estimate and compare the overall, age-, sex-, and cause-specific excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong (HK) and South Korea (SK) with consideration of the impact of ILI.MethodsIn this population-based study, we first fitted a generalized additive model to the monthly mortality data from Jan 2010 to Dec 2019 in HK and SK before the COVID-19 pandemic. Then we applied the fitted model to estimate the EM from Jan 2020 to Dec 2022. The month index was modelled with a natural cubic spline. Akaike information criterion (AIC) was used to select the number of knots for the spline and inclusion of covariates such as monthly mean temperature, absolute humidity, ILI consultation rate, and the proxy for flu activity.FindingsFrom 2020 to 2022, the EM in HK was 239.8 (95% CrI: 184.6 to 293.9) per 100,000 population. Excess mortality from respiratory diseases (RD) (ICD-10 code: J00-J99), including COVID-19 deaths coded as J98.8, was 181.3 (95% CrI: 149.9 to 210.4) per 100,000. Except for RD, the majority of the EM in HK was estimated from cardiovascular diseases (CVD) (22.4% of the overall EM), influenza and pneumonia (16.2%), ischemic heart disease (8.9%), ill-defined causes (8.6%) and senility (6.7%). No statistically significant reduced deaths were estimated among other studied causes.From 2020 to 2022, the EM in SK was 204.7 (95% CrI: 161.6 to 247.2) per 100,000 population. Of note, COVID-19 deaths in SK were not included in deaths from RD but were recorded with the codes for emergency use as U07.1 or U07.2. The majority of the EM was estimated from ill-defined causes (32.0% of the overall EM), senility (16.6%), cerebrovascular disease (6.8%) and cardiovascular diseases (6.1%). Statistically significant reduction in mortality with 95 CrI lower than zero was estimated from vascular, other and unspecified dementia (-26.9% of expected deaths), influenza and pneumonia (-20.7%), mental and behavioural disorders (-18.8%) and respiratory diseases (-7.7%).InterpretationExcluding RD in HK which includes COVID-19 deaths, the majority of the EM in HK and SK was from CVD and senility. Mortality from influenza and pneumonia was estimated to have a statistically significant increase in HK but a decrease in SK probability due to different coding practices. HK had a heavier burden of excess mortality in the elderly age group 70-79 years and 80 years or above, while SK had a heavier burden in the age group of 60-69 years. Both HK and SK have a heavier burden of excess mortality from males than females. Better triage systems for identifying high-risk people of the direct or indirect impact of the epidemic are needed to minimize preventable mortality.