"Infringement on Learning Rights and Freedom of Occupation"… Court Suspends Effectiveness of Quarantine Pass for Hagwon and Reading Rooms (Comprehensive)

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The court has put a brake on the government's quarantine pass (vaccine certificate and negative test confirmation) measures. Considering the fact that a significant number of so-called breakthrough infections are occurring even among vaccinated individuals, the court judged that the risk is not high enough to justify restricting facility use only for unvaccinated people. In particular, the court pointed out that the measures directly infringe on freedoms such as the freedom of education and the freedom to choose one's occupation.

On the 4th, the Administrative Division 8 of the Seoul Administrative Court (Chief Judge Lee Jonghwan) partially accepted the suspension of execution (suspension of effect) application filed by the National Parents' Association Federation against the Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and the Minister of Health and Welfare.

Earlier, on the 17th of last month, they filed a cancellation lawsuit against the quarantine pass measures and applied for suspension of execution, arguing that "clinical trials for youth vaccination have not been completed and verified, yet youth vaccination has been virtually mandated, infringing on youths' bodily freedom, general freedom of action, right to learn, and parents' rights to educate their children."

On this day, the court announced that it would suspend the effect of the Ministry of Health and Welfare's inclusion of academies, study rooms, and study cafes as mandatory quarantine pass facilities in the follow-up measures of the special quarantine plan announced on the 3rd of last month until the main case verdict is delivered.

In particular, the court viewed the government policy as "effectively restricting the rights of unvaccinated groups to access and use academies and study rooms," and stated, "Those unvaccinated individuals who use academies and study rooms to prepare for school admission, employment, or qualification exams have their right to learn restricted, which directly infringes on their freedom of education and freedom to choose their occupation."

The court also judged that inducing voluntary vaccination to control severe cases and other factors is the minimally invasive measure that quarantine authorities should prioritize. This is because "even under current quarantine guidelines, users of academies and study rooms are required to wear masks continuously during use to prevent COVID-19 infection, and operators are expected to make considerable efforts to comply with such basic quarantine rules."

Furthermore, the court emphasized, "Although vaccines can be actively recommended at this stage where COVID-19 treatments have not been introduced, even considering such circumstances, the right of unvaccinated individuals to self-determination regarding their bodies must be fully respected and should never be disregarded."

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