Lifting of Quarantine Pass at Large Marts and Department Stores Nationwide from the 18th
Equity Issues Persist... Voices of "Distrust in Quarantine Policy" Also Raised
The government has decided to lift the quarantine pass for facilities with a low risk of COVID-19 transmission, such as large supermarkets, movie theaters, museums, private academies, and reading rooms. On the 17th, citizens were moving to shop at a large supermarket in Seoul. Photo by Mun Honam munonam@
[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-yoon] Although the quarantine pass (vaccination certificate/negative test confirmation system) that had been applied to large marts and department stores nationwide following the Seoul area was lifted starting from the 18th, criticism over the inconsistent quarantine policies has intensified within just a week. In particular, complaints about fairness issues continue to be raised among self-employed business owners.
From this day, the government lifted the quarantine pass applied to six types of facilities nationwide, including large marts, department stores, academies, study rooms, museums, and movie theaters. As a result, 135,000 facilities (11.7%) out of a total of 1.15 million quarantine pass-applied facilities were excluded from the quarantine pass requirement. These were places judged to allow constant mask-wearing and have low droplet emission activities.
While the distribution industry and most citizens welcomed the move, some expressed distrust in the quarantine policy, questioning whether the government had initially taken an excessive measure. Citizen Park Ji-hoon (32) said, "It seems the government forcibly applied the quarantine pass and then withdrew it reluctantly after a ruling deemed it illegal. If this continues, future quarantine policies cannot be trusted."
Among self-employed business owners who still have to comply with the quarantine pass, voices of dissatisfaction are also strong. Han Hyun-chul (39, pseudonym), who runs a Japanese-style pub in Mapo-gu, Seoul, said, "They initially expanded the quarantine pass due to fairness issues but then only lifted it for large facilities. From the perspective of self-employed business owners who have continuously demanded the withdrawal of the quarantine pass, this inevitably causes feelings of relative deprivation and frustration."
Earlier, on the 14th, the Seoul Administrative Court issued a suspension order on the enforcement of the quarantine pass for marts and department stores in Seoul, as well as the youth quarantine pass. Subsequently, concerns arose about fairness between regions and a balloon effect where crowds might flock to Seoul. Considering the quarantine situation and public inconvenience and confusion, the government decided the day before to lift the quarantine pass for large marts and department stores nationwide. However, separately, the government continues to appeal the court's decision. This is interpreted as an intention to receive a clear conclusion from the judiciary to prevent confusion in similar future situations. The government also explained that this quarantine pass adjustment is not a permanent measure and may be readjusted if the quarantine situation worsens.
The government plans to maintain the quarantine pass for adolescents aged 12 to 18. In the Seoul area, the suspension order on the youth quarantine pass has already been issued, so confusion is expected to continue from the scheduled enforcement date of March 1.
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