As of July 3, 2023, South Korea has confirmed a total of 32,256,154 cases of coronavirus (COVID-19) within the country, including 35,071 deaths. South Korea's handling of the coronavirus (COVID-19) was initially widely praised, though the government's handling of vaccine distribution has been criticized. After the first wave lasted till April, Seoul and the metropolitan areas were hit hard by a few group infections during the second wave in August 2020. This was followed by a fourth wave, driven by the delta variant and low vaccination rates, leading to rising figures. Though the country has since achieved high vaccination rates, the omicron variant led to record new daily cases in 2022.

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

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.

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

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.

Covid fully vaccinated people per hundred people in South Korea, March, 2023 The most recent value is 85.68 Covid fully vaccinated people per hundred people as of March 2023, an increase compared to the previous value of 85.67 Covid fully vaccinated people per hundred people. Historically, the average for South Korea from February 2021 to March 2023 is 62.51 Covid fully vaccinated people per hundred people. The minimum of 0.02 Covid fully vaccinated people per hundred people was recorded in February 2021, while the maximum of 85.68 Covid fully vaccinated people per hundred people was reached in March 2023. | TheGlobalEconomy.com

As of August 28, 2023, South Korea has confirmed a total of 34,436,586 positive cases of coronavirus (COVID-19), including 35,812 deaths. The first case coronavirus in South Korea was discovered in January 2020. Currently, 25.57 cases per 100,000 people are being confirmed, down from 35.74 cases last month.

Case development trend

In the middle of February 2020, novel coronavirus (COVID-19) began to increase exponentially from patient 31, who was known as a super propagator. With a quick response by the government, the daily new cases once dropped to a single-digit. In May 2020, around three hundreds of new infections were related to cluster infections that occurred in some clubs at Itaewon, an entertainment district in Seoul. Seoul and the metropolitan areas were hit hard by this Itaewon infection. Following the second wave of infections in August, the government announced it was facing the third wave in November with 200 to 300 confirmed cases every day. A fourth wave started in July 2021 from the spread of the delta variant and low vaccination rates. While vaccination rates have risen significantly since then, the highly infectious omicron variant led to a record-breaking rise in cases. This began easing up in March of 2022, though numbers began to rise again around August of 2022. As of October 2022, case numbers are decreasing again.

Economic impact on Korean economy

The Korean economy is interdependent on many countries over the world, so the impact of coronavirus on Korean economy is significant. According to recent OECD forecasts, South Korea's GDP is projected to show positive growth in 2022 and 2023. The first sector the coronavirus impacted was tourism, caused by decreasing numbers of inbound tourists and domestic sales. In the first quarter of 2020, tourism revenue was expected to decrease by 2.9 trillion won. In addition, Korean companies predicted that the damage caused by the losses in sales and exports would be significant. In particular, the South Korean automotive industry was considered to be the most affected industry, as automobile production and parts supply stopped at factories in China.For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated Facts and Figures page.

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

View daily updates and historical trends for South Korea Coronavirus Cases Per Day. Source: Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering. Trac…

Change in quality of life due to COVID-19.

Total fully vaccinated people against Covid in South Korea, March, 2023 The most recent value is 44400000 total fully-vaccinated people as of March 2023, no change compared to the previous value of 44400000 total fully-vaccinated people. Historically, the average for South Korea from February 2021 to March 2023 is 32392663 total fully-vaccinated people. The minimum of 11715 total fully-vaccinated people was recorded in February 2021, while the maximum of 44400000 total fully-vaccinated people was reached in September 2022. | TheGlobalEconomy.com

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.

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.

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

South Korea KCDC: COVID-19: Patients: 0000H: Con: QDH: Ulsan data was reported at 0.000 Person in 07 Aug 2020. This stayed constant from the previous number of 0.000 Person for 06 Aug 2020. South Korea KCDC: COVID-19: Patients: 0000H: Con: QDH: Ulsan data is updated daily, averaging 0.000 Person from Feb 2020 (Median) to 07 Aug 2020, with 166 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.000 Person in 07 Aug 2020 and a record low of 0.000 Person in 07 Aug 2020. South Korea KCDC: COVID-19: Patients: 0000H: Con: QDH: Ulsan 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).

South Korea KCDC: COVID-19: Patients: 0000H: Con: QDH: Gyeongnam data was reported at 0.000 Person in 07 Aug 2020. This stayed constant from the previous number of 0.000 Person for 06 Aug 2020. South Korea KCDC: COVID-19: Patients: 0000H: Con: QDH: Gyeongnam data is updated daily, averaging 0.000 Person from Feb 2020 (Median) to 07 Aug 2020, with 166 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 0.000 Person in 07 Aug 2020 and a record low of 0.000 Person in 07 Aug 2020. South Korea KCDC: COVID-19: Patients: 0000H: Con: QDH: Gyeongnam 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).

ObjectivesGuillain–Barré syndrome (GBS) is an immune-mediated polyradiculoneuropathy, often triggered by infection. We aimed to investigate how the incidence of GBS changed in the early stages of the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic when nationwide infections declined due to non-pharmaceutical interventions.MethodsWe conducted a nationwide population-based retrospective GBS cohort study using data from the Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service of Korea. Patients with new-onset GBS were defined as those who were first hospitalized between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2020 with an International Classification of Disease, 10th Revision code, for GBS (G61.0) as a primary diagnosis. The incidence of GBS in the pre-pandemic years (2016–2019) was compared with that in the first pandemic year (2020). Nationwide epidemiological data for infections were collected from the national infectious disease surveillance system. A correlation analysis was performed to determine the incidence of GBS and nationwide trends of various infections.ResultsOverall, 3,637 new-onset GBS cases were identified. The age-standardized incidence of GBS in the first pandemic year was 1.10 (95% confidence interval, 1.01–1.19) per 100,000 persons. Compared to the first pandemic year, the incidence of GBS during the pre-pandemic years (1.33–1.68/100,000 persons/year) was significantly higher, with incidence rate ratios of 1.21–1.53 (P < 0.001). Nationwide cases of upper respiratory viral infections were significantly reduced in the first pandemic year; however, Campylobacter infections peaked in the summer of the pandemic. The nationwide epidemiology of parainfluenza virus, enterovirus, and Campylobacter infections correlated positively with GBS incidence.ConclusionThe overall GBS incidence decreased in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, which can be attributed to the dramatic reduction in viral illnesses due to public measures.

View daily updates and historical trends for South Korea Coronavirus Death Rate. Source: Johns Hopkins Center for Systems Science and Engineering. Track e…

Change in participation due to COVID-19.

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

IntroductionThe severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has been fueled by new variants emerging from circulating strains. Here, we report results from a genomic surveillance study of SARS-CoV-2 on Jeju Island, Republic of Korea, from February 2021 to September 2022.MethodsA total of 3,585 SARS-CoV-2 positive samples were analyzed by Sanger sequencing of the gene encoding the spike protein before performing phylogenetic analyses.ResultsWe found that the Alpha variant (B.1.1.7) was dominant in May 2021 before being replaced by the Delta variant (B.1.617.2) in July 2021, which was dominant until December 2021 before being replaced by the Omicron variant. Mutations in the spike protein, including N440K and G446S, have been proposed to contribute to immune evasion, accelerating the spread of Omicron variants.DiscussionOur results from Juju Island, Republic of Korea, are consistent with and contribute to global surveillance efforts crucial for identifying new variants of concern of SARS-CoV-2 and for monitoring the transmission dynamics and characteristics of known strains.