Bioterrorism is becoming more attractive to terrorist groups owing to the dramatic
increase in the utility and lethality of biological weapons in line with today\'s
cutting-edge biological science and technology. The Republic of Korea is facing both
internal and external terrorist threats, as well as the possible biological warfare by
North Korea. Therefore, it is essential to establish an effective bioterrorism response
system in the ROK.
In order to come up with the adequate response system for the ROK, an in-depth
study has been conducted on the current bioterrorism response system of the U.S.
whose preparedness is considered relatively adamant. As a result, the following facts
have been found: ①the legislation with regard to bioterrorism has been established
or amended according to the current situation in the U.S., ②the counter terrorism
activities have been integrated with the Department of the Homeland Security as
the central agency in order to maximize the national CT capacity, ③Specific
procedures and instructions to cope with bioterrorism have been made into manuals
so as to enhance the working-level response capabilities.
Next, the analysis on the ROK\'s bioterrorism response system has been performed
in various categories, including the legislation system, task role distribution,
cooperative relations, and resource application. It turned out that the ROK\'s
legislation basis is relatively weak and it lacks the apparatus to integrate the
bioterrorism response activities on the national level. The shortage of the adequate
response facilities and resources, as well as the poor management of manpower have
also emerged as problems that hinder the effective CT implementations.
Through an analytical and comparative study of the U.S. and the ROK systems,
this paper presents several ways to ameliorate improve the current system in the
ROK as follows: ①establish the anti-terrorism law, which would be the basic legal
basis for the bioterrorism-related matters; and make revisions to the disaster-related
legislation, relevant to bioterrorism response activities, ②establish an integrated body that has a powerful authority to coordinate the relevant CT agencies; and
converge the decentralized functions to maximize the overall response capacity, ③
install the laboratories with a high biosafety level and secure enough of the strategic
medical sto차-pile, ④enhance the ability of the inexperienced response personnel by
providing with a manual that has detailed instructions.
Key Word : Bioterrorism, Anti-Terrorism Law, The Bioterrorism Response System,
Biological Agents, Biological Weapons