2.2 Conclusion of basic agreement and discussion of priorities with WHO

On 1 September 1951, the Republic of Korea and WHO signed their first agreement, which clarified the roles and responsibilities of each party (15). The conclusion of the agreement allowed the Government of the Republic of Korea to gain the support and consultation of WHO in carrying out various projects to improve its health-care services. (See Annexes 2 and 3 for the basic agreement between the Republic of Korea and WHO signed in 1951 and renewed in 1974). Basing their presentation on the report, Public Health in Korea, representatives of the Republic of Korea discussed the nation’s public health issues with WHO Member States at the first session of the Regional Committee for the Western Pacific in 1951. In March 1952, I. C. Fang, the first WHO Regional Director for the Western Pacific, visited the Republic of Korea to assess the country’s public health status (16).

In the latter half of 1952, WHO published the Report of the WHO/UNKRA Health Planning Mission in Korea, which played a critical role in setting priorities to improve health-care services in the Republic of Korea (17).

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Q Choi Jae-yoo, Minister of Health and Social Affairs for the Republic of Korea from 1952 to 1956 (second from left, front row), with his staff and WHO advisers.