SEOUL, March 3 (Korea Bizwire) — The effort to bring up the rate of individuals receiving 3rd booster shots for COVID-19 is being curtailed as the government lifted the so-called ‘vaccine pass’ policy on Tuesday, which was originally introduced to encourage vaccinations. Korea’s Central Disease Control Headquarters reported that only 61.4 percent of the population [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — Many small business owners welcomed the government’s decision to temporarily suspend the COVID-19 vaccine pass system for multiuse facilities from March, though some citizens expressed concern over its negative impact on the quarantine efforts. The lifting of the vaccine pass mandate will affect 11 kinds of multiuse facilities, including [...]
SEOUL, Feb. 28 (Korea Bizwire) — The enforcement of vaccine passes at restaurants, cafes and other multiuse facilities will be temporarily lifted starting Tuesday to reduce the burden of health workers mobilized to issue negative test certificates, Interior Minister Jeon Hae-cheol said Monday. Speaking at an interagency COVID-19 response meeting, Jeon said the decision will [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 17 (Korea Bizwire) – The planned expansion of the government’s COVID-19 vaccine pass system to include 12- to 18-year-olds will be implemented in March as scheduled, a government agency said Monday, despite a Seoul court’s recent decisions to rein in the vaccine pass mandate at educational facilities. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 17 (Korea Bizwire) — Complaints have been mounting among owners of cafes and restaurants after the government decided Monday to keep COVID-19 vaccine pass requirements on eateries while suspending its enforcement at other multiuse facilities. The government decided to halt vaccine pass requirements at department stores, supermarkets, cram schools and theaters across the [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — A court on Friday suspended the enforcement of the government’s vaccine pass program at department and discount stores while also halting vaccine pass requirements for minors aged 12-18 at all facilities. The Seoul Administrative Court’s decision, however, applies only to facilities and people in Seoul, pending the outcome of [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 14 (Korea Bizwire) — Netizens expressed displeasure online after a coffee shop franchise distinguished vaccinated and non-vaccinated customers by affixing stickers of different colors to customer cups. A post written on an online community on Thursday talked about how a local coffee shop attached different colors of stickers based on the customer’s vaccination [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — Long lines, entry bans and angry protests plagued department stores, shopping malls and large supermarkets Monday as the government’s vaccine pass system was enforced at such retail establishments for the first time. Visitors are now required to present proof of vaccination or negative COVID-19 test results to enter large [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 5 (Korea Bizwire) — This week’s court decision halting vaccine pass enforcement at cram schools and private education facilities has further fueled the debate over how far the government can or should exert its executive authority in safeguarding public health at the expense of personal rights and liberty. On Tuesday, the Seoul Administrative [...]
SEOUL, Jan. 4 (Korea Bizwire) — South Korea on Tuesday suspended the vaccine pass mandate for cram schools and other private education facilities following a court ruling that the system infringes on people’s right to learn. The Seoul Administrative Court ordered the suspension of a rule that requires adults to show proof of vaccination before [...]