All Arrivals Must Show Negative PCR Test to Board... Southeast Asian Korean Residents Fearful Amid Poor Medical System

On the 7th, at the quarantine station of Incheon International Airport Terminal 1, Korean residents, international students, and foreigners who arrived from Frankfurt, Germany after vaccination were lined up waiting, as the daily number of COVID-19 confirmed cases exceeded 1,200 and imported cases continued to rise steadily. On this day, for the first time since COVID-19, 10,000 people entered Incheon International Airport in one day.
Yeongjongdo - Photo by Airport Photojournalists Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] "I plan not to leave Indonesia for the next month. I have postponed all my plans."

A man in his 20s, Lee, who entered Korea from Indonesia last month due to the worsening COVID-19 situation, expressed regret after the government announced on the 15th that Korean nationals would also be denied entry without a negative COVID-19 test certificate. Lee, who has been doing business in Indonesia for several years, described the local situation where proper treatment is unavailable.

He said, "Indonesia recorded 54,000 new cases yesterday, setting a daily record again. As the situation worsens, local Korean residents rely on expensive and unreliable rapid PCR tests, and they live in fear that they will not receive proper treatment if infected with COVID-19."

From this day, the government has mandated the submission of a negative PCR test certificate upon entry for all people, including nationals. Since the 4th, the government had restricted boarding for travelers from Indonesia, where the Delta variant is prevalent, without a negative PCR test certificate, and this measure has now been extended to travelers from all countries.

Local Korean Residents: "If Infected with COVID-19, We Might Not Receive Treatment... Protection Measures for Overseas Nationals Needed"

Indonesians are lining up at a COVID-19 checkpoint located at a train station in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, on the 13th. [Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

The government's strict measures have increased anxiety among overseas nationals. A Korean resident in Myanmar reported, "Even Myanmar nationals cannot be hospitalized if infected with COVID-19, so how would foreigners be treated?" He added, "The healthcare system is poor, and the price of oxygen tanks has skyrocketed, causing suffering and anxiety."

In countries with high vaccination rates such as the U.S. and Germany, fully vaccinated individuals are exempt from the two-week self-quarantine when entering Korea for important business or visiting immediate family. However, some countries in Southeast Asia have significantly lower vaccination rates and are designated as Delta variant prevalent countries, increasing difficulties for Korean residents there. The mandatory PCR test requirement for boarding has also sparked debates about infringement of basic rights.

Lee Ki-il, the first controller of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, explained, "In Indonesia, about 10% of those without exemption certificates tested positive, so strong policies had to be implemented." Former Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency Director Jeong Ki-seok said, "While the quarantine authorities' stance is understandable, from the perspective of overseas nationals, there is a possibility of constitutional violations. If there are treatment purposes or unavoidable circumstances, it is necessary to consider protection measures for overseas nationals, such as allowing partial entry under strict conditions like quarantine or self-payment for whole genome sequencing for variant analysis."

Lee Sang-hee, head of the Overseas Entry Management Team at the Central Accident Response Headquarters, said at the COVID-19 briefing that "the restriction on boarding without a negative PCR test certificate is to prevent infection inside the aircraft," and added, "Some Southeast Asian countries have poor medical delivery systems, so we are closely monitoring possible situations."

He further stated, "If the poor local situation becomes a problem, there are cases where many people enter at once via air ambulance. We will support this, and if insufficient, we will consult with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to consider how to protect overseas nationals."

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