The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has asked South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in to deliver a keynote speech at the World Health Assembly (WHA) in May, praising the country for its successful response to the coronavirus outbreak.

In a 25-minute phone call on Monday, WHO director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, invited Moon to speak as a representative of Asia at the WHA teleconference in May, saying it would be a “good opportunity for South Korea to share its COVID-19 experience with other countries,” the presidential Blue House said.

South Korea is one of the few countries that has been able to “flatten the curve” through aggressive testing and contact tracing.

On Monday, Korea reported fewer than 50 new cases for the first time since its mass outbreak in late February. The country had 47 new infections, bringing the national tally to 10,284. The number of new daily cases has stayed at around 100 or lower over the past month, compared with its peak when more than 900 new cases were identified in a single day.

Moon accepted the invitation and said he would consult with the foreign ministry to make the necessary preparations.

The WHO leader also asked for Moon’s support in providing medical supplies including test kits to sub-Saharan countries.

The WHA is the decision-making body of WHO and the world’s highest health policy setting body. The Health Assembly is held annually in May at WHO headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. This year’s meeting would be held via teleconference due to the pandemic.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa are other leaders to speak at the session.

By Park Yong-beom, Kim Sung-hoon and Kim Hyo-jin

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