Court to Hold Hearing on 'Quarantine Pass Suspension' Enforcement on the 7th (Update)

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] A hearing will be held on the 7th for a lawsuit filed by over 1,000 current doctors and others requesting the suspension of the enforcement of the government's quarantine pass (vaccination certificate and negative test confirmation system) measures.

According to the legal community on the 4th, the Seoul Administrative Court Administrative Division 4 (Chief Judge Han Won-kyo) will hold a hearing on the 7th regarding the request for suspension of enforcement of the quarantine pass disposition filed by 1,023 people, including Professor Jo Doo-hyung of Yeungnam University College of Medicine, against the Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

Previously, they filed a main lawsuit along with the suspension request, arguing that "the government is effectively forcing COVID-19 vaccination, which has not undergone proper clinical trials, by severely restricting the use of social facilities such as restaurants, cafes, and academies for the unvaccinated, resulting in numerous severe patients and deaths," and demanded the cancellation of the quarantine pass disposition.

Suspension of enforcement is a measure to temporarily block the execution or effect of an administrative disposition when there is a concern of irreparable damage caused by the administrative agency's disposition. The court plans to confirm the positions of both parties regarding the infringement of rights caused by the quarantine pass on that day and decide whether to grant the suspension.

Currently, they argue that the disadvantages to the public clearly outweigh the public interest that can be gained from implementing the quarantine pass, and therefore the quarantine pass disposition is illegal as it constitutes an abuse or deviation of discretionary power.

Previously, the government implemented measures allowing entry to public facilities such as restaurants, cafes, and academies only if vaccination was completed or a negative diagnosis test was confirmed to curb the spread of COVID-19. However, with the vaccination rate already exceeding 90%, criticisms arose that the quarantine pass is ineffective and rather infringes on the basic rights of the unvaccinated.

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