South Korea was one of the first countries affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. A combination of high societal discipline and competent and prompt government actions on mass testing capacity and technologically enabled tracing and quarantines helped South Korea to quickly control the pandemic. Consequently, South Korea did not need to enter into full economic lockdown in early 2020 and needed only much smaller fiscal stimulus than most other advanced economies in the Group of Twenty (G20) and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Although risks still exist given the relatively low COVID-19 vaccination levels in South Korea, the pandemic has not materially altered South Korea’s character as a small government and very low public debt country.