Cheong "COVID-19 Response, Tough Only on Japan? Misleading... Not 'Protecting China'"

Kang Min-seok, Blue House Spokesperson [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] The Blue House refuted claims from some quarters that "our government is taking a politically and emotionally tough stance only against Japan" in relation to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) situation, calling it "a misleading assertion that is difficult to see as a reasonable criticism."

Kang Min-seok, spokesperson for the Blue House, stated in a written briefing that day, "South Korea has taken corresponding measures in a 'restrained manner' based on the three principles of transparency, openness, and democratic procedures in responding to COVID-19, in response to Japan's excessive and unreasonable actions."

Regarding the claim, "Why does South Korea not respond similarly to the other 100 countries that have taken entry-related measures against our country but only take a tough stance against Japan?" Kang said, "We clearly state that the decision was made prioritizing the health and safety of our citizens and focusing on thorough control of infectious disease inflow."

He explained, "Many of the countries currently imposing entry bans, restrictions, or strengthened procedures on South Korea are tourist countries like the Maldives with relatively weak quarantine capabilities. Considering the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, these countries and most others do not pose as high an infection risk to South Korea as Japan does, so corresponding measures like those against Japan are not necessary."

Kang added, "The measures our government took against Japan were decided after comprehensively considering Japan's passive quarantine, the lack of transparency, geographical proximity, the scale of human exchanges, and the trend of infection spread within Japan. In particular, the number of tests conducted in Japan is significantly lower than ours, making the COVID-19 infection situation unclear."

According to the Blue House, as of the previous day, South Korea had completed diagnostic tests on a total of 188,518 people, whereas Japan had only 8,029. The number of tests conducted in South Korea is more than 20 times higher.

Kang also said, "It is not that South Korea is being tough; rather, Japan's five measures are excessive," noting, "In addition to the 14-day quarantine for Koreans, Japan suspended visa exemption measures for Koreans and the validity of already issued visas." He added, "Japan took these excessive measures against South Korea without any prior consultation. Japan also unilaterally notified us of export regulations on July 1 last year, and we cannot help but express our dismay that the same behavior has been repeated." He further pointed out, "It is noteworthy that Japanese media are evaluating that Japan used South Korea for political purposes to avoid its own quarantine failure."

Kang said, "Due to such 'political reasons,' about 17,000 Korean students studying abroad, expatriates, and travelers are facing considerable difficulties," emphasizing, "The principle of reciprocity should be applied to visa issuance." He also stated, "In a situation where our citizens have suffered damage, the government's expression of strong regret to Japan and the taking of corresponding measures such as suspending visa exemptions based on reciprocity were not 'just blaming Japan' but actions that a sovereign nation should rightfully take."

Finally, Kang said, "After careful consideration, our government decided to apply 'special entry procedures' rather than measures like Japan's request for a 14-day designated location quarantine for domestic entrants," and questioned, "Why is applying the same special entry procedures to both Japan and China seen as 'shielding China while taking a tough stance only against Japan'?"

He concluded, "Our government has taken necessary measures against China based on the three principles, and the claim that 'China is shielded while Japan is treated with ultra-tough measures' is not only untrue but also unhelpful in overcoming the crisis during this extraordinary situation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.