[Desk Column] Strengthening Quarantine Pass, Measures for Small Business Owners Too

[Asia Economy Reporter Myeong Jin-gyu] As the number of new COVID-19 cases continues to record the high 5,000s daily, marking the biggest challenge this week, starting today (13th), users who enter restaurants, cafes, and other venues without verifying vaccination proof or a negative test result (vaccine pass) will be fined 100,000 KRW. Businesses subject to the vaccine pass that allow entry without checking vaccination certificates or negative PCR test results will face a fine of 1.5 million KRW and a 10-day suspension of operations as an administrative penalty.

With the rapid increase in confirmed cases and concerns over the spread of variant viruses, small business owners and self-employed individuals, who had hoped for a year-end boom, are now sighing over whether they must also bear responsibility for customers’ violations of quarantine rules. It is fortunate if users prove their vaccination completion by scanning the QR code themselves upon entry, but if they deceive or forge vaccination certificates or negative test results to gain entry, it is impossible to verify each case individually. The burden is heavier because the responsibility imposed on business owners who fail to prevent such violations is greater than that on customers who do not comply with quarantine measures. If violations occur more than twice, the fine increases to 3 million KRW, and the suspension period extends to 20 days for the second violation and three months for the third. Upon the fourth violation, the business may ultimately face closure orders.

Given this situation, complaints are erupting everywhere that "the government set excessive enforcement standards without providing practical manpower or system support to businesses when introducing the vaccine pass." From calculations such as "One vaccine pass verification manager costs 2.5 million KRW per person based on next year’s minimum wage, 5 million KRW for two shifts, and 10 million KRW including night shift allowances for three shifts (Kim Ki-hong, Chair of the Loss Compensation Committee of the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business)," to protests like "They recommended installing kiosks to encourage non-face-to-face payments, but now they say we have to hire people again for unmanned stores (Jo Ji-hyun, Co-representative of the National Emergency Committee of Self-Employed)," these reactions are somewhat understandable.

There is no disagreement that the current COVID-19 situation is very serious, with explosive increases in confirmed cases, a shortage of hospital beds for severe patients, and the need for stronger quarantine measures. However, it is regrettable that the atmosphere, which had quietly hoped to overcome a critical phase with phased daily recovery (With Corona), has worsened in less than a month, increasing the difficulties faced by self-employed individuals included in the vaccine pass application. The government must have deliberated deeply to implement drastic measures to tighten quarantine controls, but if the results require enormous sacrifices from some, this cannot be considered an appropriate policy. Earlier in July, the government passed the Loss Compensation Act to support small business owners and self-employed individuals affected by administrative orders such as business suspension or restrictions, but decided not to provide retroactive compensation for losses incurred before the law’s enactment. Meanwhile, lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Korea have proposed amendments to include not only business hour restrictions but also capacity-limited businesses as subjects of loss compensation, showing efforts to revise unreasonable related laws.

The government expects the special quarantine measures, including the expansion of the vaccine pass applied since the 6th, to show effects as they enter the second week of implementation this week. Nevertheless, if the spread does not subside, additional strengthening of quarantine measures has been announced. In line with the government’s quarantine policies such as additional vaccinations (booster shots), expansion of eligible vaccination ages, and strict enforcement of the vaccine pass, both individuals and communities must participate with maximum effort. The government, when requesting public cooperation with such policies, must also review the anticipated damages and aftereffects and provide alternatives and supplementary measures to minimize them.

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