On September 26, Dr. Youngmee Jee, Commissioner of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), attended the High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) during the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 79) in New York City, USA, as the Head of Delegation of the Republic of Korea. In her speech, she called for urgent global action and cooperation to combat AMR.

Earlier, on September 24, Dr. Jee visited the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), where both agencies discussed critical issues such as Mpox and respiratory infectious diseases. The following day, September 25, KDCA and the U.S. CDC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to further strengthen cooperation on a wide range of public health challenges.

During the UNGA High-Level Meeting on AMR, on September 26, Dr. Jee expressed strong support for the Political Declaration on AMR and emphasized the need for a global response based on cross-sectoral collaboration and the One Health approach.

Also, during the visit to the U.S. CDC, along with the discussion of the current status and response to Mpox, both agencies also exchanged views on other pressing disease control issues, including global health security and Joint External Evaluation (JEE), immunization programs and policies, public health workforce development, and disease surveillance for travelers.

Following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. CDC, Dr. Jee plans to create more opportunities for policy and scientific exchanges, including continuing high-level meetings and field-specific interactions conducted both in person and virtually, as well as hosting agency-led joint seminars.