Korea's National Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance: Focusing on the Appropriate Use of Antibiotics

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is recognized as one of the top ten global public health threats. Since the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, there has been a notable increase in global concern regarding AMR, leading to a strong call for a government-led response to address this issue. Since 2016, the Korean government has established and implemented a robust social foundation for managing AMR. This foundation encompasses several elements: enhancing the medical environment for infection prevention, providing support for the antimicrobial stewardship program in healthcare organizations, strengthening cooperation among multidisciplinary policy ministries, requiring veterinarians to prescribe antimicrobials in non-human fields, and enhancing food safety management in livestock and aquatic products. However, as the threat of AMR has intensified during the ongoing pandemic, the necessity for implementing a National Action Plan becomes even more critical. Therefore, the Third National Action Plan 2026-2030 is crucial to take into account several critical factors: raising awareness of AMR, strengthening of antimicrobial stewardship, halting the spread of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, strengthening surveillance of antimicrobial use and AMR rates, strengthening internal and external collaborative efforts to combat AMR, and the final factor to consider is to enhance further antimicrobial development and diagnostic technologies to better manage and prevent AMR.