'Unvaccinated' Can't Dine?…'Ding Dong' Alert Sound for QR Check from Next Month 3rd

Vaccination Validity Period '6 Months'... Certificates Invalidated for Unvaccinated and Expired Cases

On the 14th, an unvaccinated citizen is doing a 'QR check-in' at a restaurant in Seoul.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Seohyun] Starting January 3rd next year, a 6-month validity period will be applied to the quarantine pass, and different notification sounds will be used for those who have not completed two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine or whose quarantine pass validity has expired.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) announced on the 27th, "The validity period for vaccination certificates will be applied from January 3rd next year," adding, "To allow easy verification of users' vaccination completion and expiration of validity without on-site personnel during busy times or in small facilities, 'notification messages and voice guidance by vaccination status' will be applied differently."

They continued, "When the QR code is scanned, a valid certificate will be announced with '(Ddiriring~) You are fully vaccinated,' and if invalid, a 'Dingdong' sound will be played," adding, "Facility managers should check whether those triggering the Dingdong sound fall under 'unvaccinated exceptions' (PCR negative confirmation, COVID-19 recovered, under 18, etc.) and inform those without a quarantine pass that facility use is not allowed."

They also said, "Facility managers are requested to update the KI-PASS app in line with the system improvement on the 3rd," explaining, "Vaccination certificates older than 180 days after vaccination cannot be used in multi-use facilities where the quarantine pass is applied." Accordingly, those who received their second dose before July 6th (or the first dose for Janssen) and have not received a third dose will have their quarantine pass expired and will not be able to use vaccination certificates in multi-use facilities such as restaurants, cafes, and karaoke rooms.

The facilities where the quarantine pass is applied include 16 types: ▲entertainment facilities (entertainment bars, karaoke bars, clubs/nightclubs, hunting pubs, emotional bars, colatecs/dance halls) ▲singing (coin) practice rooms ▲indoor sports facilities ▲bathhouses ▲bicycle racing, motorboat racing, horse racing, casinos ▲restaurants and cafes ▲academies ▲movie theaters and performance halls ▲reading rooms and study cafes ▲multi-rooms (excluding arcades) ▲PC rooms ▲(indoor) sports stadiums (spectator venues) ▲museums, art galleries, science museums ▲party rooms ▲libraries ▲massage and therapy centers.