On March 26, KAIST announced via email and KAIST Portal that, after careful consideration, the school has decided not to implement rapid PCR testing for school members. Recently, there have been reports of several universities considering rapid PCR testing for their students in order to resume fully offline classes. This prompted KAIST to consider the option as well. Related departments, including the Office of Student Affairs & Policy, Office of Student Life, Office of Research Affairs, and Office of Administration, discussed the rapid PCR testing in the context of students’ health and safety, bettering the education environment, and related research trends. However, they concluded that it is best to not do rapid PCR testing and maintain the current method of remote education and distancing methods.

Recently, Korean universities have been exploring the possibility of conducting rapid PCR tests for their students in order to return to face-to-face classes. For example, Seoul National University (SNU) announced that it has been planning to implement it to prevent COVID-19 cases on campus. In a survey conducted with 212 graduate students in the College of Natural Sciences, 90.1% responded that they are willing to voluntarily participate in the testing, and 82.1% responded that they believe rapid testing will help prevent the spread of the virus on campus. Amid support from its students, (SNU) plans to start trial tests in April before full implementation.

However, KAIST decided not to conduct rapid testing for two main reasons. First of all, the accuracy of rapid PCR testing results lacks sufficient evidence, which can pose safety concerns. Secondly, there is a possibility that the rapid test can result in false negatives, and members who have been classified as such could spread the virus if everyone is allowed to resume offline activities on campus. There is research being conducted in KAIST about highly efficient and accurate COVID-19 testing, and the administration is discussing ways these tests could be used for school members in the future when it gets approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.

The COVID-19 Task Force asks students to continue adhering to social distancing and safety measures on campus.