Beyond Predestined Failure: Reassessing Structural Determinism in South Korea's COVID-19 Response.

Abstract

This letter responds to "The Predestined Failure of the Market Mechanism." While ambitious, its structurally determinist framing underplays the role of government policy discretion. The central thesis risks creating a tautological argument where the premise of market-driven failure is insulated from empirical challenge. The analysis also overlooks key factors. State mandates reallocating ICU beds challenge the 'powerless state' premise. Furthermore, the bed crisis is more accurately explained not by market supply failure, but by the government's 'isolate-for-all' strategy-a state-driven demand crisis. We propose a falsifiable alternative: a 'competent but rigid' government model. This model highlights how path dependency from the 2015 MERS outbreak created a 'success trap,' explaining both early successes and later struggles through this institutional legacy and offering concrete lessons on strategic rigidity.