On the 13th, overseas arrivals were receiving transportation information at the arrival hall of Terminal 2, Incheon International Airport. Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] Even if individuals have received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine domestically, if they do not stay in Korea for at least 14 days, they have not been able to receive quarantine exemption incentives as fully vaccinated upon returning to the country. This inconvenience is expected to be resolved.

On the 27th, Kwon Jun-wook, Deputy Director of the Central Disease Control Headquarters (Director of the National Institute of Health), announced at a regular briefing, "To improve convenience for entrants and administrative efficiency, the quarantine exemption criteria will be changed to apply to those who enter the country after 14 days have passed since completing vaccination."

Currently, quarantine exemption upon return is only granted to those who completed vaccination before departing overseas. Even if a person has received both doses domestically, if the government-recognized "fully vaccinated period" of 14 days plus 1 day after vaccination completion has not passed, they must quarantine regardless of testing negative on both pre- and post-return PCR tests. Moreover, due to unclear standards from health authorities, in the early stages of implementation, there were cases where fully vaccinated individuals had to quarantine upon return because they departed before the 14-day mark by calendar date, even if exactly 14 days had passed since vaccination by time.

This measure has sparked continuous concerns such as "Does the vaccine administered domestically only produce antibodies while in the country?" and "It might be better to go abroad to get vaccinated." Authorities explained, "This is a measure considering the time required for antibody formation. If departure occurs before antibodies form, there is a risk of breakthrough infection overseas, which is relatively dangerous."

However, going forward, even if individuals depart the day after their second dose (or first dose for Janssen vaccine recipients), quarantine exemption will be possible if they enter the country after 14 days have passed since vaccination.

In addition to addressing these inconveniences, health authorities have decided to increase the mandatory diagnostic tests from two to three times to detect breakthrough infections spreading overseas at an early stage. Currently, fully vaccinated individuals are exempt from quarantine if they test negative before entry and on days 6-7 after entry. Going forward, they must also test negative on day 1 after entry to qualify for quarantine exemption.

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