Eun Sun Jang, Nae Yun Heo, Jae Yoon Jeong, Jung Gil Park, Do Seon Song, Eun Ju Cho, Chang Hun Lee, Jae Seung Lee, Jae Hyun Yoon, Seul Ki Han, Young Kul Jung, on behalf of the Korean Association for the Study of the Liver (KASL)
Clin Mol Hepatol 2026;32(1):1-52. Published online October 23, 2025
Chang Hun Lee, Gwang Hyeon Choi, Hwa Young Choi, Sojung Han, Eun Sun Jang, Young Eun Chon, Young Chang, Kyung-Ah Kim, Do Young Kim, Hyung Joon Yim, Hye-Lin Kim, Sook-Hyang Jeong, In Hee Kim
Clin Mol Hepatol 2023;29(3):779-793. Published online May 15, 2023
Background/Aims To eliminate hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) according to the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria in 2021, this study investigated the national core indicators representing the current status of viral hepatitis B and C in South Korea.
Methods We analyzed the incidence, linkage-to-care, treatment, and mortality rates of HBV and HCV infection using the integrated nationwide big data of South Korea.
Results According to data from 2018–2020, the incidence of acute HBV infection in South Korea was 0.71 cases per 100,000 population; tthe linkage-to-care rate was only 39.4%. Among those who need hepatitis B treatment, the treatment rate was 67.3%, which was less than 80% reported in the WHO program index. The annual liver-related mortality due to HBV was 18.85 cases per 100,000 population, exceeding the WHO target of four; the most frequent cause of death was liver cancer (54.1%). The annual incidence of newly diagnosed HCV infection was 11.9 cases per 100,000 population, which was higher than the WHO impact target of five. Among HCV-infected patients, the linkage-to-care rate was 65.5% while the treatment rate was 56.8%, which were below the targets of 90% and 80%, respectively. The liver-related annual mortality rate due to HCV infection was 2.02 cases per 100,000 population.
Conclusions Many of the current indicators identified in the Korean population did not satisfy the WHO criteria for validation of viral hepatitis elimination. Hence, a comprehensive national strategy should be urgently developed with continuous monitoring of the targets in South Korea.
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