Korean doctor says those who haven’t contracted COVID-19 have no friends
By Rebecca Moon
March 23, 2022
A physician in Korea wrote a now-deleted Facebook post suggesting that those who have not contracted COVID-19 have “interpersonal problems.”
Ma Sang-hyuk, the vice president of the Korean Vaccine Society, uploaded the post to his Facebook page on March 16.
Ma’s post quickly garnered criticism from Korean internet users, prompting him to delete the post.
The physician explained to local media outlets that the “interpersonal problems” comment was intended to stress to others that contracting COVID-19 would be inevitable.
A Korean physician suggested in a now-deleted Facebook post that those who have yet to contract COVID-19 do not have friends.
Vice President of the Korean Vaccine Society Ma Sang-hyuk wrote in a social media post on March 16 that, “The adults who have not yet been infected with COVID-19 are those who have interpersonal problems.”
After receiving backlash from Korean internet users, Ma deleted the post; however, it had already been screenshotted and widely shared across the internet.
Ma has previously advocated for “living with” the virus and focusing on COVID-19 treatments rather than social distancing regulations.
The physician told local news outlets that his reference to “interpersonal problems” was intended to emphasize that contracting COVID-19 would be inevitable for those with relationships.
On Feb. 6, the Wall Street Journal reported on a tweet by Infectious Disease specialist Brenda Crabtree from Mexico, who made a similar comment to Ma’s, saying “If you don’t have friends infected right now, you don’t have friends.”
South Korea is currently experiencing daily COVID-19 case number increases that exceed 400,000 as deaths are reaching record highs.
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