ROK military delivers protective equipment to fight virus
Top Stories | Apr 10, 2020:
Felix Kim
The Republic of Korea’s (ROK) military took to the air in its fight against COVID-19 when a pair of military transport planes flew to Burma on March 18, 2020, to pick up a shipment of 80,000 urgently needed surgical gowns.
The gowns are vital for COVID-19 screenings, particularly in the hardest-hit provinces of Daegu and Gyeongbuk, which accounted for 7,667 of the 8,961 cases of the virus reported in South Korea as of March 23, 2020, according to data provider Statista. Seoul recently designated areas within the two provinces as special disaster zones.
A Korean Airlines commercial jet had originally been commissioned by the Ministry of Health in Seoul to fly in the supplies on March 9, 2020. When the flight was canceled over COVID-19 concerns, however, the ROK Ministry of National Defense (MND) quickly stepped in, deploying a pair of military transport aircraft to import the items.
Seoul considered the option of using a civilian flight from Burma to South Korea via Bangkok, Thailand, but decided against it in anticipation of delays.
Diplomacy and creative project management were required to see the mission through.
Wary of spreading the coronavirus, Burmese authorities were unwilling to allow the passengers and crew from Daegu and Gyeongbuk into their country. South Koreans from other provinces could enter, MND reported, but would need to undergo a 14-day quarantine before moving about in public. Negotiations between South Korea and Burmese diplomats led to a compromise that allowed South Korean personnel to land in Burma to pick up their supplies, under the condition that they first submit medical exam results and agree not to leave the airfield.
The transport planes landed at Seoul’s Gimpo International Airport about 20 hours after takeoff from Burma. (Pictured: Military C-130J transport planes like this one delivered much-needed surgical gowns to South Korea.)
“In the midst of various adverse conditions, through close cooperation between the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it was possible to advance this impossible situation,” a Defense Ministry news release stated.
On the ground, ROK Armed Forces personnel have been widely deployed in the effort to halt COVID-19’s spread, according to the MND. Soldiers have worked to sterilize public spaces and support national quarantine efforts.
The surgical gowns were manufactured by a South Korean company operating in Burma, reported Yonhap, the government-affiliated news agency, and were destined for hospitals, clinics and other health facilities across South Korea.
Felix Kim is a FORUM contributor reporting from Seoul, South Korea.
