Malaria is a vector-borne disease that is transmitted through mosquitoes. It is known as one of the infectious diseases with the highest global burden of disease, with approximately 247 million cases in 84 countries in 2021, according to the World Health Organization (WHO)'s report in 2022.

While Korea declared that it had eliminated malaria in 1979, cases reemerged in 1993.

After reaching a peak of 4,142 cases in 2000, malaria cases decreased to 294 in 2021 after the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) launched its malaria elimination program.