Son Young-rae "Overload of Quarantine Pass Due to System Inadequacy... Measures Underway for Normal Operation"

As COVID-19 cases increased following the phased recovery of daily life, a 'vaccine pass' was introduced at multi-use facilities such as restaurants and cafes. On the 13th, office workers were lining up to have lunch at a restaurant in Seoul. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Chun-hee] The quarantine authorities repeatedly apologized for the system overload that prevented normal operation on the first day, the 13th, of the expanded application of the vaccination certificate and negative test confirmation system (quarantine pass) to restaurants and cafes. Regarding the recent calls for a 'special measure' due to the worsening quarantine situation, they also expressed the position that it is necessary to observe the situation over time.

On the morning of the 14th, Son Young-rae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters, explained the cause of the problem in an interview with MBC's "Kim Jong-bae's Focus," saying, "First, I would like to apologize. With the full mandatory implementation of the quarantine pass, inquiries surged, and since the system was insufficient, it could not immediately keep up with the surge, causing an overload issue."

Son added, "We anticipated the surge in inquiries and expanded the servers, but the increase was much greater than expected, so we are urgently working on it," and "We are taking measures to ensure normal operation starting today."

Regarding the calls for 'drastic measures' as the number of confirmed cases rapidly increases daily, accompanied by a rise in severe cases and deaths, Son expressed a reserved stance. He said, "We need to observe the situation until around Wednesday to Thursday," and added, "We expect the effects of various quarantine pass strengthening measures, accelerated third-dose vaccinations, and private gathering restrictions to appear starting this week," indicating that it is premature to conclude that the situation is a crisis.

Concerning concerns about the reduction of the minimum interval for the third dose to three months, he stated, "Medically, there is no significant problem," and explained, "This reflects the wishes of those who want to get vaccinated quickly."

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