1. The government of the Republic of Korea held a joint video conference on COVID-19 response with the government of the Federal Republic of Germany at 17:00-19:00, April 3 (Korea Standard Time), and had an extensive exchange of views on the global spread of COVID-19 and cooperation in responding to it.

o The conference held at the request of Germany was attended by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Sei-young, head of the ROK delegation, and other officials from the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Participants from Germany were Foreign Policy Advisor to the German Chancellor Hecker, head of the German delegation, and other officials from the German Chancellor's Office, the Federal Foreign Office, the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the Federal Ministry of Health, and the Robert Koch Institute.

2. The ROK side stressed that the ROK intends to continue to share its experiences and successful response models with the international community, and noted with appreciation that the video conference on COVID-19 response was held with Germany, the ROK’s key ally in Europe.

3. In line with its position that it is desirable to make a balanced response based on openness, transparency, and a democratic process, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs underlined the need to effectively monitor and control the inflow of sources of infection, while keeping the door open for necessary people-to-people exchanges without a complete entry ban.

o The Office for Government Policy Coordination explained that it is exerting all-out efforts to respond to COVID-19 efficiently and effectively by establishing the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters led by the Prime Minister, and strengthening interagency cooperation to stop the spread of COVID-19 and treat patients.

o The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the KCDC said that they are doing their utmost to draw up measures to deal with the current COVID-19 situation, including early detection of patients, investigation into contacts among the patients, management of people under quarantine, and social distancing.

o The Ministry of the Interior and Safety explained that it has launched the “Self-Quarantine Safety Protection App” to enable people under self-quarantine to conduct self-diagnosis frequently and be provided with safety guidelines, and officials in charge are keeping a close watch on those under self-quarantine by monitoring their health conditions and checking if they are outside designated quarantine areas.

- In addition, it said that the government is making its best efforts not to infringe upon the human rights and privacy of individuals, and achieving results with the public showing mature civic consciousness by actively participating in the government’s policies.

4. The German side explained the COVID-19 situation in Germany and its response efforts, and showed interest in the ROK government’s specific experiences, including its COVID-19 crisis response system and advanced response measures using information technology such as apps. The German side highly commended the ROK for effectively responding to COVID-19, while seeking to find the best possible balance between the protection of private information and disease control efforts.
 

5. In the video conference, the two sides, recognizing the seriousness of the current situation, agreed to further step up joint efforts in fighting COVID-19, including sharing experiences and cooperating in responding to the virus.