I'm extrapolating from hospitalization rates for that reason. Otherwise, you'd get a 0.45% CFR in Iceland.
Looking at the raw data, I don't think Korea ever had below 3% using deaths/recoveries. Iceland is at 0.75% right now. Two weeks after peak, Korea was at a crude CFR (deaths/total confirmed) at 1.1%
With a sample size of 8 deaths, 0.45% is easily comparable to 1.1%. We are talking different infected populations, different healthcare systems, and so forth it’s expected to see that kind of a range. The US had what ~19 deaths out a single nursing home.
Also, deaths/recoveries is the least useful metric to compare countries as people with minimal symptoms recover first, again look at the South Korea or China graphs of the number of infected over time.
South Korea had 5 deaths per day on both 2/29 and 4/13 that’s a horrible sign.