Jiwon Park

During the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, the South Korean government initiated the Global Vaccine Hub Project (GVHP) purportedly to address global vaccine inequality. This study analyzes the strategies and underlying epistemology of GVHP through the perspective of global governmentality. Critical Discourse Study (CDS) approaches were used to identify governmental technologies and explain how their embedded knowledge is related to power relations. The findings reveal that GVHP merely pursues national interests by implementing governmental technologies, such as calculative practice, support to private companies, patent protection and circumvention, and pursuing vaccine diplomacy. The South Korean government considered the pandemic an economic and diplomatic opportunity to become an advanced country. The governmental strategies resulted in the depoliticization of vaccines and facilitated the government's opposition to other alternatives, such as an intellectual property waiver at the World Trade Organization level. This study argues that the failure of global pandemic governance does not imply the failure of global governmentality; rather, the success of neoliberal global governmentality made global solidarity challenging.

Objective: The decriminalization of abortions in South Korea in 2019 has not been followed by the establishment of policies ensuring access to abortion services. This study aimed to explore the current challenges and barriers for quality abortion services in the Korean healthcare system.Methods: Eleven women, six healthcare providers, and 11 advocates participated in in‐depth interviews in 2020. Experiences of abortion were analyzed using the modified Availability, Accessibility, Acceptability, and Quality (AAAQ) framework.Results: While informal, access to surgical abortion services was possible in general. However, accessibility to services and information varied according to women's age, marital status, and physical condition. Considering that the Korean government has been reluctant to adopt proactive measures to ensure access to abortion services, the quality of abortion care in Korea remains questionable, with the mandate of male consent for abortion prevailing. The women interviewed in this study expressed dissatisfaction with their current access to and the quality of abortion services.Conclusion: Abortion is an essential service that ensures the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women. Although abortion was decriminalized in Korea in 2019, it remains an informal and stigmatized service. Further research and policy efforts are required to ensure access to abortion in Korea.