South Korea has been continuing aggressive and large-scale diagnostic tests since the early days of the virus’ spread. Korea’s response was highly reported by foreign media, and most of all, they paid much attention to the total number of tested people in Korea. On March 18 Britain’s Guardian newspaper reported that South Korea tests more than 15,000 people a day, with a total of more than 250,000. It said that 3,692 people had been tested on a 1 million basis, but at that time, the U.S. had only five tested people. The New York Times in the U.S. also reported on March 23 that South Korea has more than 300,000 tests and that the ratio of test per person is 40 times higher than that of the U.S.

Such large-scale diagnostic testing is possible because enough test kits are produced by several companies. In February, COVID-19 began to spread in earnest in South Korea, when the country was already developing the kits and producing enough kits. Some foreign media noted how Korean companies quickly developed the kits and had large-scale production capabilities.

The CNN focused on Seegene, a South Korean molecular bioengineering company, on March 13. According to the article, its CEO Chun Jong-yoon said he developed the test kits for COVID-19 using artificial intelligence-based technology in a few weeks in preparation for the spread of the virus even before there was the first confirmed case in South Korea. The government completed the approval of its use in a week, which usually takes more than a year.

This shows the swift response of the private sector and the government to contain the spread of the virus. Private companies have quickly developed the diagnostic kits, and the government has completed the approval process to use the kits, and thus, they have made the best response in their respective positions to deal with the virus in South Korea.

As the virus became wide-spreading, the Seegene has stopped producing other medical supplies and all employees have been put into the production of the COVID-19 test kit, Chun said. Based on the article released on March 13, the Seegene produces 10,000 kits a week, and one kit can test a hundred people, which means they produce enough kits to test a million people per week. The Seegene’s kits test the samples using the robot, which is four times faster than manual testing and also reduces the risk of error and contamination that people might cause while testing.

The U.S. media, Forbes also reported on the Seegene on April 5. According to the article, the Seegene developed and produced kits even before the situation in South Korea became serious, so measures such as the government’s massive diagnostic test could be conducted without problem, which played an important role in curbing the spread of the virus.

As South Korea has succeeded in flattening the curve of the virus through large-scale tests, the world is actively seeking to secure kits for testing. As a result, kits produced in Korea are now sending to the all over the world. The Forbes reported that as of mid-March, the Seegene produces 1 million kits a week and exports them to more than 40 countries, including France, Germany, Italy, Spain and other Asian countries.

On April 9, The Diplomat also said South Korea is producing enough kits to test around 135,000 people a day, while five biotech companies are exporting the kits to abroad. Moreover, more than 120 countries have so far requested to the Korean government for the exportation or humanitarian assistance of the kits, it reported.

As such, South Korea has contained the spread of the virus, and now it is becoming a major country in the prevention of the virus around the world through large-scale production of the kits and supply them globally.