"Preschool and Elementary Students Nose-Picking Twice a Week? Irremovable Scars Will Remain"… Petition to Cheong Appears

Government Recommends Self-Testing for Preschool, Elementary, Middle, and High School Students Starting March

On the 9th, citizens are conducting rapid antigen tests themselves at the COVID-19 screening clinic of Gangnam-gu Public Health Center in Seoul. Photo by Honam Moon munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Yeeun] As the government plans to distribute self-diagnostic kits free of charge to kindergarten, elementary, middle, and high school students starting this March and recommend that they conduct rapid antigen tests once or twice a week before attending school, a petition opposing this policy has been posted.

On the 14th, a petition titled "Opposition to Self-Diagnostic Kit Testing for Kindergarten and Elementary Students" appeared on the Blue House's official website's national petition board.

The petitioner, Mr. A, stated, "I read a news article that said starting from the March semester, kindergarten and elementary students are required to test themselves twice a week for a month using self-diagnostic kits before attending school. If this is true, I strongly oppose this policy," adding, "I believe this is an absurd and inefficient policy that cannot be justified by claiming it is a decision made out of concern for children's safety."

Photo by Cheongwadae National Petition Capture

Mr. A pointed out that since kindergarten and elementary students are unvaccinated against COVID-19, it seems the policy is being enforced on that basis, saying, "Even though they did not choose to remain unvaccinated, this appears to be nothing more than thorough discrimination against the unvaccinated."

He continued, "It seems like the epidemiological investigations and PCR tests conducted by public health centers are being replaced with self-testing using self-diagnostic kits purely as a budget-saving measure."

He also said, "At the beginning of the semester, children are already under significant stress due to the confusion and fear of COVID-19. Forcing them to perform self-diagnostic tests twice a week will leave indelible scars."

Finally, Mr. A added, "The Ministry of Education should prioritize the children's perspective and implement policies that are realistically feasible from their standpoint. Only then will the Ministry's authority be restored, and it will become an opportunity for all children to overcome the difficult times caused by COVID-19 together."

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