Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of the Korean Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who has calmly held news briefings on the pandemic since the reporting of the nation's first confirmed case, is hailed as a hero in the fight against COVID-19 by domestic and overseas media. She is shown here at a meeting on responding to the coronavirus on April 16 at Government Complex-Sejong.
By Kim Minji
Photos = Yonhap News
"Calm" is the word most frequently used by domestic and overseas media when describing the strengths of Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC).
She began holding daily briefings on the pandemic on Jan. 20 wearing a wool suit after the nation's first infection of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was reported, and spoke in front of the camera daily until Feb. 27. Through May 3, she has conducted 62 briefings, or once every other day.
For over three months, Jeong has been the face of the government's quarantine campaign and held briefings to inform the people. The fading of her black hair and its gradual whitening during that time shows how stressful but crucial her work is.
Jeong Eun-kyeong, director of the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, on Jan. 20 gives a briefing on the pandemic at Government Complex-Sejong after the nation reported its first confirmed case of COVID-19. Media outlets have commented on the difference in her appearance from the first briefing to her most recent ones as a sign of the gravity of the situation.
What remains unchanged, however, is how calmly she conducts each briefing, something lauded by the media.
Since the nation reported the first case of the disease, her voice has stayed calm even after the massive outbreak in Daegu, the continuous acclaim she has received from domestic and overseas media, and the nation's number of new confirmed cases falling under ten for over ten days.
Jeong's calm briefings delivered in a stable tone have elicited trust in her and the government's response to the pandemic from the people.
Both domestic and global media say she learned how to be calm from her experience with the Middle Eastern respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak in 2015, and others have called her a "true hero" or "virus hunter," praising her as a role model for the world and an essential figure in the fight against the epidemic.
The director has politely declined all interview requests to quietly continue focusing on her work.
When asked at one briefing on April 10 if she had seen an article hailing her exemplary leadership, she said it was not only thanks to the Central Epidemic Control Countermeasure Headquarters under the KCDC, but also a joint effort by ministries, local governments, medical staff and the people. She thanked them all.
kimmj7725@korea.kr
