When the quarantine pass expires at restaurants and cafes, a 'warning sound'... Complaints continue, calling it "criminal treatment"

Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] "It reminds me of an SF movie where a chip implanted to distinguish people by their genes emits a warning sound in restricted areas." "The Sexual Offender Notification E doesn't sound an alarm when entering, but unvaccinated people are treated worse."

Following the quarantine authorities' announcement on the 23rd that starting next year, a warning sound will be triggered if an expired quarantine pass (vaccination certificate/negative test confirmation) is presented when entering multi-use facilities such as restaurants and cafes, citizens have been protesting in portal comment sections and online communities, calling it an "excessive measure."

On the afternoon of the previous day, Ko Jaeyoung, head of the Crisis Communication Team at the Central Disease Control Headquarters, stated in a back briefing, "From January 3 next year, a 6-month validity period will be applied to the quarantine pass, and when the smartphone QR code is scanned, a warning sound will be emitted if the quarantine pass has expired." He also said, "Currently, only the KDCA COOV app can check the elapsed days after the second vaccination," and added, "We are currently negotiating with private platforms such as Kakao, Naver, Toss, and telecom pass apps to enable checking the elapsed days after the second vaccination."

In this regard, concerns have been raised that the government is excessively restricting unvaccinated individuals. Critics point out that this could lead to another form of discrimination against the unvaccinated, beyond just providing benefits to those who have completed vaccination. A user from the university community Everytime criticized, "After the government's failure with With-Corona and the reintroduction of distancing measures, I don't know if it's right to restrict the freedom of unvaccinated people to that extent," adding, "Allowing only one person to enter and taking no action against establishments that refuse some unvaccinated people looks less like a benefit for the vaccinated and more like targeting the unvaccinated."

There is also a view that this is a preparatory step for the 4th and Nth vaccinations following the 3rd dose. One netizen said, "Basically, it's a policy to get vaccinated every 6 months," "Even if you have received the 3rd vaccine, after 6 months (with the warning sound), you will be treated as unvaccinated."

On the other hand, Team Leader Ko explained that this measure "will reduce the effort for facility managers to individually check vaccination completion." He added, "Paper vaccination certificates or stickers do not have a separate validity period indicated, but the KDCA will announce the valid second vaccination date on its website and press releases starting today," and "individuals will be notified 14 days, 7 days, and 1 day before expiration, and guidance on the 3rd vaccination method will be provided through the National Secretary service."