"It's Not About Taking Off Masks Immediately, Vaccine Passes Also Need to Be Considered"

Prime Minister Kim and 40 Members of the Public-Private Joint Committee
First Meeting of the Daily Recovery Support Committee

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum is speaking while presiding over the 1st COVID-19 Recovery Support Committee meeting held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 13th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporters Seo So-jeong and Moon Chae-seok] The government has officially launched the COVID-19 Daily Recovery Support Committee and aims to prepare a ‘Step-by-step Daily Recovery (With Corona) Roadmap’ by the end of this month.

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum stated at the first meeting of the COVID-19 Daily Recovery Support Committee held at the Government Seoul Office on the morning of the 13th, "After enduring a difficult time, we have now reached the stage of cautiously preparing for daily recovery."

The Daily Recovery Support Committee is a public-private joint organization consisting of 40 members co-chaired by Prime Minister Kim and Professor Choi Jae-chun of Ewha Womans University. It will advise on overall policies for daily recovery and gather opinions. The committee is composed of four subcommittees covering economy and livelihood, socio-culture, local autonomy and safety, and quarantine and medical care, which will collect public opinions and derive policy tasks for step-by-step daily recovery.

Prime Minister Kim presented three main directions for daily recovery: ‘gradual recovery, inclusive recovery, and recovery together with the people.’ He said, "Daily recovery is a path we have never taken before," adding, "Above all, we will prioritize the safety of the community and regain our daily lives step by step, like crossing a river by tapping a stone bridge."

Prime Minister Kim indicated that the step-by-step daily recovery will proceed gradually. He explained, "It is by no means time to ‘throw off masks’ immediately. That is not possible at this stage," and emphasized, "We need to fill gaps and prepare for the worst-case scenarios." He also stressed, "We must consider new quarantine management methods such as the ‘vaccine pass’ and strengthen the medical system."

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