"If You Lend Your Vaccination Certificate, We'll Pay 50,000 Won"...Concerns Over Fraudulent Use of Quarantine Passes Amid Strengthened Social Distancing

Vaccination history confirmed through the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's COOV (electronic vaccination certificate) mobile app.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seoyoung Kwon] As the quarantine pass (vaccination certificate/negative test confirmation) is being implemented nationwide, there are concerns about fraudulent use exploiting loopholes in the verification process.

On the 17th, Yonhap News reported that it is difficult to properly distinguish and verify when unvaccinated individuals show certificates using mobile phones or screenshots under someone else's name. With quarantine measures equivalent to social distancing level 4 in place and unvaccinated people barred from participating in private gatherings, there are worries that fraudulent use of the quarantine pass will increase.

According to the report, Mr. A, who runs a restaurant in Dongnae-gu, Busan, noticed something unusual while managing restaurant entry on the second day of the quarantine pass implementation, the 14th. While checking vaccination status using the COVID-19 vaccination verification app 'COOV' for a group of four customers, he found that one customer's name did not match the name on the certificate.

At that time, the problematic customer insisted on being allowed entry, claiming to have completed the second dose of the vaccine but had brought a family member's phone due to personal circumstances. Mr. A said, "I advised that if they were going to use someone else's phone, they should at least get a verification certificate, but they were stubborn," and added, "Since it could seriously affect business, I canceled the reservation altogether."

A sign informing about the application of the quarantine pass is posted at a restaurant in downtown Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Similarly, many concerns about loopholes in the quarantine pass have recently appeared on various online communities. There have been reports of people showing captured images of completed vaccination certificates or sharing PCR negative test confirmation messages that can substitute for vaccination certificates to use as quarantine passes.

Additionally, on the secondhand trading platform 'Danggeun Market,' a post offering to rent a vaccinated person's Naver ID for 50,000 won sparked controversy. The purpose is to log in on their own phone using someone else's ID who has completed vaccination and use that person's certificate as a quarantine pass.

However, all such acts constitute illegal behavior. Forging or altering certificates or using someone else's certificate can lead to legal penalties. Forging certificates can result in imprisonment of up to 10 years under criminal law, and violating the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act can incur a fine of 100,000 won. Using someone else's certificate fraudulently can lead to imprisonment or detention of up to 2 years or a fine of up to 5 million won.

Currently, quarantine authorities require checking customers' IDs along with the quarantine pass as a principle. However, self-employed business owners complain that asking customers to submit IDs is burdensome and inconvenient.

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