"Public Safety Must Be Prioritized"... 'Support' 청원 Emerges Amid Backlash Against Quarantine Pass

Petitioner: "Quarantine Pass Policy Is a Measure Implemented for Public Safety"
"Individual Freedoms Must Be Partially Restricted in National Disaster Situations"

Citizens are checking the validity of their quarantine passes at a restaurant in downtown Seoul. The photo is unrelated to specific expressions in the article. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Amid ongoing demands for the withdrawal of the quarantine pass (vaccine certificate and negative test confirmation system), a petition advocating for the continuation of the current policy has been posted.

On the 6th, a petition titled 'The Quarantine Pass Policy Must Be Maintained' was uploaded on the Blue House National Petition Board. As of 5:30 PM on the 7th, this petition had received support from over 7,740 people.

The petitioner began by saying, "Already, 82% of the entire population has completed (vaccine) inoculation, and 82% is nearly half the population. Half of the citizens can live their daily lives under the quarantine pass policy."

He continued, "Infectious diseases are national disasters. Types of national disasters include war crises, natural disasters, and surges in infectious diseases. Since the emergence of the infectious disease called COVID-19 until now, it has been a national disaster situation," adding, "In the current situation, public safety must be prioritized, and personal freedoms inevitably must be restricted to some extent compared to normal times."

He stated, "The vaccine pass policy during this unprecedented national disaster caused by an infectious disease is one of the policies implemented for public safety," and pointed out, "In advanced countries, quarantine passes have been mandatorily strengthened to a high level, and there are countries that impose legal penalties if these are not followed."

Furthermore, the petitioner emphasized, "The reason for maintaining the vaccine pass policy is that confirmed cases are not rapidly increasing," and said, "Although it is argued that vaccines are ineffective because 'breakthrough infections' occur, there is clearly a preventive effect against infection risk compared to the unvaccinated. Above all, it is effective in preventing severe illness even if infected with COVID-19."

He added, "There are already cases where daily confirmed cases surged due to phased daily recovery," and expressed concern, "If the quarantine pass itself disappears, confirmed cases could surge, and the social costs for this would inevitably be enormous."

Photo by Blue House, screenshot of the National Petition Board.

In addition, he raised his voice, saying, "While it is possible to establish exceptions in the vaccine pass policy for unvaccinated individuals such as pregnant women and those with underlying diseases by preparing some form of policy, the vaccine pass policy itself should not be withdrawn."

Meanwhile, the government maintains the position that the application of the quarantine pass is effective in reducing COVID-19 confirmed cases. Son Youngrae, head of the Social Strategy Division at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, emphasized during a briefing that "From the 10th to the 19th of last month, the outbreak began to decline significantly, and from the 19th to the 25th, it shifted to a clear decreasing pattern. This is the effect of expanding the quarantine pass and partially adjusting private gatherings."

However, Son also noted, "There are criticisms that the criteria for exceptions for those who cannot be vaccinated inevitably are narrow, creating a kind of 'gray zone,'" and stated that discussions are underway to improve the quarantine pass exception cases.

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