OECD highlights S. Korea's COVID-19 response

SEOUL, Nov. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's COVID-19 pandemic response was highlighted in a report compiled by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the ICT ministry said Friday.

The OECD included South Korea's use of technology to combat the pandemic this year in its Digital Economic Outlook report, such as the country's mobile application that monitors those under quarantine and its epidemiological investigation system, according to the Ministry of Science and ICT.

The report shares policy measures around the world against the pandemic and emphasizes the importance of digital technology to respond to the global health crisis, the ministry said.

South Korea has been relatively successful in containing the spread of the virus. So far, the country has reported 32,887 COVID-19 cases as of Friday since the outbreak early this year.

The ministry said the OECD report also includes the country's efforts in new tech services, such as the 5G network and artificial intelligence (AI).

South Korea has recently ramped up efforts to push for more digital services as the pandemic limits face-to-face contact.

In July, the government unveiled the digital New Deal initiative, which aims to spend 58.2 trillion won (US$52.7 billion) in new technologies, such as remote services and AI, to create over 900,000 jobs by 2025.

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
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