Prime Minister Kim Orders "Flawless Quarantine" After African Swine Fever Outbreak in Changnyeong

"Heightened quarantine amid increased travel during Lunar New Year... all-out efforts to prevent further outbreaks"

On the 14th, Prime Minister Kim Minseok issued an emergency order to implement thorough quarantine measures in connection with the outbreak of African swine fever (ASF) at a pig farm in Changnyeong-gun, South Gyeongsang Province.

Prime Minister Kim Minseok is responding to a question from Hwang Myeongseon, a lawmaker of the Democratic Party of Korea, during a government-question session on education, social and cultural affairs at the National Assembly plenary hall on Feb. 11, 2026. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

The Office of the Prime Minister stated that on this day, after receiving a report on the ASF outbreak, Prime Minister Kim instructed the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to "implement quarantine measures in accordance with the Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), including controlling access to the affected farm and related sites, culling livestock, and intensive disinfection, without any setbacks."

Prime Minister Kim also directed the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment to "thoroughly inspect fences in the vicinity of the affected farm and spare no effort in searching for and capturing wild boar carcasses."

He further asked the Ministry of National Defense to "carry out in-house disinfection of military vehicles and equipment in border areas with heavy traffic across the Civilian Control Line (CCL), and to cooperate in disinfecting major roads north of the CCL, as well as in wild boar capture and search operations."

He instructed the Ministry of Employment and Labor to provide training to foreign workers engaged in livestock farming on necessary matters, including the prohibition of bringing illegal livestock products into farms.

He also called on pig farmers to "strictly comply with administrative orders, such as banning gatherings and events among pig farm workers and prohibiting the bringing in of potentially contaminated items, including illegally imported livestock products."

Prime Minister Kim stressed, "ASF is occurring in various regions across the country, and with the Lunar New Year holiday period expected to bring a sharp increase in the movement of people and vehicles, please treat the quarantine situation with utmost seriousness and make every effort to prevent any further outbreaks."