The COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea continues to rage out of control, particularly among children. Last week, the Central Disease Control Headquarters reported on the mass infection of children between the ages of 0 and 9. As of April 7, one out of two children tested for the dangerous virus receives a positive diagnosis, totaling 1,823,539 kids. This is a direct result of the policies of the Moon Jae-in administration and the South Korean ruling class to remove all virus mitigation methods in its drive to “return to normal.”
The 0–9 age bracket accounts for the largest number of infections in the South Korean population as a whole, with 48,494 cases per 100,000 people. The next largest group impacted is adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19, accounting for 41,726 cases per 100,000. These figures indicate the widespread infection taking place in schools. The surge in cases has also led to 20 deaths among children and adolescents, all of whom died following Seoul’s implementation of its “with COVID” policy last November, in which the population was forced to “live with” the deadly virus.
Hundreds of people are dying each day, with the seven-day average on April 13 standing at 285 deaths daily. Put in perspective, approximately the same number of people die each day on average from a preventable disease as the 304 people who died in the Sewol Ferry sinking in 2014, a disaster that engendered widespread anger and anti-government sentiment.
Hundreds of thousands of new infections take place daily, with cases surpassing the official totals in every other country nearly every day. Nearly 16 million infections—equal to 31 percent of the population—have officially been confirmed, and more than 20,000 people have died, the vast majority since November. Those who have recovered now face the danger of Long COVID and debilitating complications resulting from infections.
However, these figures hide a far grimmer reality. Those who died before testing positive for COVID-19 or from complications following infection are considered “hidden deaths,” and not included in official counts. Dr. Kim Woo-joo, a professor of infectious disease at Korea University Guro Hospital stated last month in the Korea Biomedical Review, “The actual number of deaths related to Covid-19 may be two to three times the number of the official death toll. The cumulative number of deaths is estimated to be at least 30,000.”
As around the world, the government’s agenda is to normalize mass sickness and death. Government health officials make the claim that the spread of Omicron was inevitable and that social distancing measures were no longer viable. It blames the public for the current situation.
However, the surge in cases was not inevitable and took place because of the removal of all pandemic control measures. This included the elimination of mass testing, contact tracing, and quarantines. Currently, PCR tests are only available for those over 60 or in a high-risk group; quarantine has been reduced to only seven days for confirmed infections while close contacts are not required to quarantine at all.
The Moon administration furthermore claims that COVID-19 mitigation measures harm small businesses and the self-employed. While this layer has undoubtedly suffered during the pandemic, Seoul’s primary concern was to remove all restrictions on the ability of big business to turn a profit, no matter the impact on workers or any other section of the population.
Seoul made clear in early 2020 that it would prop up big business and financial institutions with unlimited money, no questions asked. Workers, small-business owners, and the self-employed on the other hand were left to flounder.
Speaking for finance capital, a March 30 article in the Wall Street Journal essentially congratulated South Korea for its inhumane and deadly policy. It cited Dr. Monica Gandhi of the University of California, San Francisco, who said, “South Korea could become the first country to transition to endemic.”
The use of the term “endemic” is being used to falsely claim the virus is less dangerous and to justify the removal of all social distancing measures. South Korean authorities have also promoted in practice, if not explicitly stated, the unscientific concept that mass infection will result in greater immunity in the future.
On March 31, the Korea Herald published interviews with health experts, who challenged the claim that the Omicron variant represented a weaker or less dangerous form of COVID-19 and that the removal of social distancing measures has popular support.
Dr. Oh Ju-hwan of Seoul National University stated, “If natural immunity is indeed superior, then contracting a mild disease would be considered a blessing, which it is not. The ‘super immunity’ from a combination of vaccination and natural infection is at best an assumption at this point.”
Dr. Lee Jong-koo, a former head of the Korea Centers for Disease and Control Prevention, stated that immunity through mass infection “has no basis in science and evidence…
“From how I see it, nothing justifies 300 to 400 people dying every day with morgues running out of space for bodies. The worst part is we don’t know if this is going to be the last of the virus.”
The Moon Jae-in administration’s decision to allow a deadly virus to run rampant through the South Korean population is based entirely on the interests and demands of big business, not the vast majority of society.