45 Countries with Entry Bans from Korea... Ministry of Foreign Affairs "Strengthening Support for Domestic Business Activities"

President Moon Jae-in Instructs Consultation on Exceptional Entry Measures for Businesspeople with Negative COVID-19 Test Results

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it plans to make every effort to support the smooth business activities of domestic companies for countries that have imposed entry restrictions due to concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

On the 10th, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Kim In-cheol said in a regular briefing, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is making multifaceted efforts to support our companies and will further strengthen such efforts going forward." As of 2 p.m. today, 45 countries have implemented entry bans. Among them, 39 countries have blocked entry for all of South Korea, and 6 countries have imposed entry bans on certain regions. Fifteen countries have implemented facility quarantine measures.

President Moon Jae-in instructed that, through diplomatic channels, discussions be held on allowing businesspeople who have tested negative to exceptionally enter countries that have imposed entry restrictions on travelers from Korea due to COVID-19 prevention measures.

Blue House spokesperson Kang Min-seok said, "The President's directive is to promote allowing exceptions for businesspeople who possess health status verification documents to enter the country," adding, "The health status verification refers to COVID-19 confirmation." He further explained, "President Moon instructed to negotiate through diplomatic channels with countries that have imposed entry restrictions on South Korea."

Regarding Italy, where the situation is worsening due to the spread of COVID-19, it was announced that close meetings are being held with local diplomatic missions. Spokesperson Kim In-cheol said, "There are two diplomatic missions in Rome and Milan, and we had very close meetings with them yesterday," adding, "We are receiving real-time reports on related matters."

Regarding the plan to send charter flights to evacuate overseas nationals, Spokesperson Kim said, "Yesterday, the travel advisory was raised to level 2 (refrain from travel) for some regions, and since the lockdown has expanded nationwide, related matters are being reviewed," adding, "We will continue to actively provide necessary consular assistance while monitoring the situation."

In this regard, a senior official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs previously told reporters, "The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCH) is conducting risk assessments for countries such as Italy and Iran and consulting with related agencies," adding, "If special entry procedures are necessary, decisions will be made through consultations with relevant ministries."

Yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs raised the travel advisory for Piedmont in northern Italy and Marche in central Italy to level 2, which corresponds to travel restraint. The three northern regions of Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, and Veneto already had level 2 travel advisories issued.

Meanwhile, regarding the World Health Organization (WHO) diagnosing that "the threat of a COVID-19 pandemic has become very real," it was stated that necessary measures will be taken if required.

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha is speaking at a briefing for the diplomatic corps in Korea on COVID-19 held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 6th. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

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