Visa-Free Entry Restrictions... 61% Decrease in Short-Term Foreign Visitors

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] The number of short-term foreign visitors entering the country has decreased by about 60% since visa-free entry was restricted.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on the 25th, the average daily number of foreign entrants entering the country from the 13th to the 23rd of this month was 779, a 42% decrease compared to the number of entrants from the 1st to the 12th (1,332). In particular, the average daily number of short-term foreign visitors subject to the visa-free entry suspension measure implemented from the 13th was reduced to 105. This is a 61% decrease compared to the average daily 266 visitors before the visa-free entry suspension measure (from the 1st to the 12th).

To prevent the overseas inflow of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the government implemented visa exemption and visa-free entry restrictions for countries that banned Korean nationals from entering starting from the 13th. The target countries number 90.

Yoon Tae-ho, head of the Central Disaster Management Headquarters' quarantine team, said at a regular briefing held at the Government Sejong Complex on the same day, "The significant decrease in short-term foreign visitors is interpreted as a clear effect of the visa-free entry suspension measure implemented from the 13th."

Among all entrants, Korean nationals still accounted for a large proportion. During this period, the average daily number of entrants was 2,664 Koreans, accounting for more than 77%. Foreigners numbered 779. Among the 779 foreign entrants, long-term residents with a domestic base such as marriage, jobs, and study accounted for most, with 674 people (86.5%).

Head Yoon said, "Thorough quarantine is being conducted for all entrants, and even asymptomatic individuals are under 14-day self-quarantine with a 24-hour one-on-one monitoring system in operation. We will continue to monitor the overseas spread of COVID-19 and the status of overseas entrants, and implement thorough quarantine at airports and ports to block the overseas inflow of COVID-19."

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