Missing Occupation, Missing Risk: Insights from COVID-19 Case Investigation Data in Busan, South Korea

Busan's early COVID-19 surveillance system recorded occupation for nearly all cases but produced limited analyzable information. The disconnect between data entry and analytic usefulness highlights the need for structured, dual occupation-industry coding, searchable picklists, and real-time quality checks so that occupational risk can be systematically identified and incorporated into future pandemic preparedness and response.