Jeong Eun-kyeong | |
|---|---|
| 정은경 | |
 | |
| Commissioner of Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency | |
| In office 12 September 2020 – 17 May 2022 | |
| President | Moon Jae-in |
| Prime Minister | Chung Sye-kyun Kim Boo-kyum |
| Minister | Park Neung-hoo Kwon Deok-chul |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Peck Kyong-ran |
| Director of KCDC | |
| In office 26 July 2017 – 11 September 2020 | |
| President | Moon Jae-in |
| Prime Minister | Lee Nak-yeon Chung Sye-kyun |
| Minister | Park Neung-hoo |
| Preceded by | Jung Ki-seok |
| Succeeded by | Position abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 9 July 1965 Gwangju, South Korea |
| Alma mater | Seoul National University |
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 정은경 |
| Hanja | 鄭銀敬 |
| Revised Romanization | Jeong Eungyeong |
| McCune–Reischauer | Chŏng Ŭngyŏng |
Jeong Eun-kyeong or Jung Eun-kyeong (Korean: 정은경; Hanja: 鄭銀敬; born 9 July 1965) is a South Korean infectious disease and public health expert served as the first Commissioner of KDCA, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, from 2020 to 2022. Jeong was previously the first woman to lead its preceding agency, KCDC, which history dates back to 1981.[1][2]
During the 2009 swine flu pandemic, Jeong led the Division of Disease Policy at the Ministry of Health and Welfare.[3] In 2015, during the MERS outbreak, she was responsible for press briefings and crisis management[3] as the head of the Center for Disease Prevention of KCDC and field investigation team of central task force.[2] In 2016 Board of Audit and Inspection ordered suspension of nine public health officials including Jeong[4] for their failure to stop the worst MERS outbreak outside of the Middle East.[5] Her suspension was reduced to 1-month of reduced pay after the Board was harshly criticized by the medical and scientific community for only punishing scientists such as Jeong, rather than politicians and administrators in charge.[6][4] From the early stage of COVID-19 outbreak in January 2020, Jeong has held daily briefings to report its status quo and answer questions from reporters by herself and from May 2020 every two days with the other given by the Director of KDCA's KNIH.[7]
Jeong is included in Time's 100 Most Influential People of 2020,[8] BBC's 100 women of 2020[9] and Bloomberg 50.[10]
- ^ "Moon names former doctor as KCDC head". KBR (in Korean). 27 July 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
- ^ a b 정은경 질병관리본부장…전염병 관리 첫 여성사령탑 [Jeong Director of KCDC... first woman chief] (in Korean).
- ^ a b "The Virus Hunter Showing the World How to Fight an Epidemic". Bloomberg.com. 20 March 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
- ^ a b 이, 혜인 (8 September 2020). 초대 질병관리청장 정은경 이력은… 보건소 진료의사로 공공의료 첫 발. Kyunghyang Shinmun (in Korean). Retrieved 8 September 2020.
- ^ "2015 MERS outbreak in Republic of Korea". www.who.int. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
- ^ 질본 "방역현장 일한 게 죄…의사 공무원들만 희생양인가".
- ^ [헬로디디]코로나 126일만에···질본 브리핑 건너뛴다, 주6일 체제. 헬로디디 (in Korean). 24 May 2020. Retrieved 8 September 2020.
- ^ "Jung Eun-kyeong: The 100 Most Influential People of 2020". Time. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
- ^ "BBC 100 Women 2020: Who is on the list this year?". BBC News. 23 November 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
- ^ "The Bloomberg 50". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 3 December 2020.