Joint external evaluation of the International Health Regulations (2005) core capacities of Republic of Korea: mission report, 25–29 August 2025

Overview

During the JEE mission, which took place in Osong from 25 to 29 August 2025, the Republic of Korea’s capacities in 19 technical areas were evaluated through a peer-to-peer consultative process. This process brought together a multisectoral group of national subject matter experts and the multinational, multidisciplinary expert JEE team for a week of discussion, interaction and site visits. The report documents examples of national implementation as well as international collaboration, which is an expectation for countries with sustainable capacity.

After a week of collaborative talks this process led to consensus on scores, as well as JEE recommendations for priority actions across the 19 technical areas.

The evaluation also generated six wider, overarching recommendations, which, if implemented, will consolidate the Republic of Korea’s progress and remove bottlenecks that might impede implementation of the agreed priority actions. These recommendations, outlined below, address cross-cutting challenges affecting national capacities across many of the different technical areas that were explored in greater depth in the JEE process. As the Republic of Korea demonstrated sustainable capacity in most technical areas, the recommendations focus on how to (a) sustain that level of capacity and functionality, and (b) support other countries in their implementation.