Daegu District Court Suspends Enforcement of Quarantine Pass Order for Restaurants and Cafes Under 60... First Case Nationwide

Ansaim Call and QR Code Check-in Notice Posted at the Entrance of a Large Supermarket. / Photo by Mun Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] The court has suspended the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccination proof and negative test confirmation system (quarantine pass) ordinance for those under 60 years old in Daegu Metropolitan City. Although the court had previously suspended the effectiveness of the quarantine pass ordinance that expanded the application target to adolescents aged 12 to 18 in Daejeon City, this is the first time the effectiveness of the quarantine pass ordinance for those under 60 has been suspended.

The Administrative Division 1 of Daegu District Court (Chief Judge Cha Kyung-hwan) on the 23rd partially accepted the petitioners' request in the case of 'Suspension of Execution of Vaccine Pass' filed by Professor Jo Doo-hyung of Yeungnam University College of Medicine and 309 local youths against Daegu City.

The court ruled, "The effectiveness of the part including restaurants and cafes as facilities mandatorily subject to the vaccination proof and negative test confirmation system for those under 60 years old shall be suspended from the date of the main case judgment announcement until 30 days thereafter."

The court also decided, "The expansion of the application target of the vaccination proof and negative test confirmation system to those aged 12 to 18 is recognized as urgently necessary to prevent irreparable damage to the petitioners, so its effectiveness must also be suspended."

The court explained, "Since quarantine policies are operated focusing on high-risk groups aged 60 and over or those with underlying diseases, applying the quarantine pass to unvaccinated persons under 60 is difficult to see as a restriction with reasonable grounds in light of the principle of balancing legal interests."

Regarding restaurants and cafes, the court noted, "Although these are facilities with relatively high infection risk because mask-wearing is impossible while consuming food and drinks and conversations often occur among companions during consumption, in modern society, restaurants and cafes have a significant role beyond simply being spaces for food and beverage consumption; they are essential facilities for social life, including daily socializing and business purposes."

Furthermore, the court stated, "Due to changes in the epidemiological investigation methods by quarantine authorities, since the 19th, it has not been mandatory to write QR codes, Safe Call, or handwritten logs when using restaurants and cafes, yet the quarantine pass remains in place. This has led to increasing doubts about the effectiveness of the quarantine pass and confusion during the verification process, so whether such restrictions on basic rights are useful can also be considered."

The court added, "Even if unvaccinated individuals use restaurants and cafes with others, it does not appear to cause significant adverse effects on public welfare."

Finally, the court stated, "Considering that current quarantine policies focus on high-risk groups aged 60 and over or those with underlying diseases, and that those under this age are effectively conducting quarantine under individual responsibility, restricting the use of restaurants and cafes for people under 60, whose severity and mortality rates from Omicron infections are considerably low, cannot be seen as a restriction where the degree of infringement on private interests is less than the public interest gained through the quarantine pass."

Professor Jo and others filed an administrative lawsuit against Daegu City along with a request for suspension of execution of the vaccine pass after a decision was made that the Ministry of Health and Welfare's measures could not be subject to administrative litigation.

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