"Health Authorities and Seoul City File Immediate Appeal Against Suspension of Youth Quarantine Pass"

On the 13th, a scene from a restaurant in downtown Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] In response to the court's decision to suspend the youth vaccine pass (proof of vaccination or negative test) in the Seoul area, the quarantine authorities stated that they will "immediately appeal with the Seoul city government," and it is expected that a conclusion will be reached before March after review by the High Court.

On the morning of the 18th, Son Youngrae, head of the Social Strategy Division of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, said in a back briefing, "Except for learning facilities, the transmission rate among youth is high."

Son said, "We will explain (to the court) the necessity of maintaining the vaccine pass considering the Omicron situation. Based on that explanation, the court will reconsider its judgment."

The Seoul Administrative Court decided on the 14th to suspend the youth vaccine pass for the Seoul area. On the other hand, the quarantine authorities emphasize the necessity of applying it to youth, pointing out that those aged 18 and under account for more than 25% of confirmed cases.

The government initially planned to implement the youth vaccine pass for those aged 12 to 18 starting in March. Son added, "We accepted the argument that applying it to learning facilities severely infringes on basic rights, so excluding that part, it is necessary to apply the youth vaccine pass equally to remaining places such as singing practice rooms, PC rooms, and saunas," and added, "Most foreign countries apply it to those aged 12 and above, so (our policy) is not excessive."

He said, "Currently, vaccination is important as a way to reduce the youth infection rate. Along with that, social distancing and strengthening general quarantine rules such as mask-wearing are the measures we can take at this time," and mentioned that the Ministry of Education is reviewing strengthened measures and additional actions will be taken.

Meanwhile, starting today, the government has lifted the vaccine pass requirement for six types of facilities nationwide, including large supermarkets, 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 facilities subject to the vaccine pass have been excluded from the requirement. These are places judged to allow constant mask-wearing and have low droplet emission activities.