Daegu District Court Partially Grants Suspension of Quarantine Pass Enforcement for Under 60s Entering Restaurants and Cafes

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyungsoo Park] In Daegu, people under 60 years old are not required to present COVID-19 vaccination proof (quarantine pass) when entering restaurants or cafes.

The Administrative Division 1 of Daegu District Court (Chief Judge Kyunghwan Cha) on the 23rd partially accepted the injunction request to suspend the enforcement of the 'vaccine pass' filed by Professor Dohyung Jo of Yeungnam University College of Medicine and 309 local youths against Daegu City.

The court stated in its ruling, "The enforcement regarding persons under 60 years old included in the mandatory vaccination proof facilities such as restaurants and cafes shall be suspended from the date of the main case judgment announcement until 30 days thereafter."

While some regions such as Seoul, Gyeonggi, Daejeon, Incheon, and Chungbuk have previously issued injunctions suspending the quarantine pass for youths, this is the first ruling to suspend the quarantine pass for the general public under 60 years old.

The court also added that the enforcement of expanding the vaccination proof and negative test confirmation requirements to those aged 12 to 18 should be suspended.

The court explained, "The quarantine policy is primarily operated focusing on high-risk groups aged 60 and above or those with underlying conditions," and "Applying the quarantine pass to unvaccinated persons under 60 years old cannot be seen as a reasonable restriction based on the principle of balancing legal interests."

It was judged that even if unvaccinated individuals use restaurants or cafes together with others, it does not appear to cause significant adverse effects on public welfare.

The court emphasized, "It is difficult to predict various variables such as the emergence of new variant viruses," and "If the current injunction seriously affects public welfare, the quarantine authorities can respond with new notifications."

In response, the Ministry of Health and Welfare is reviewing whether to file an appeal at the local government level. The Ministry explained that the defendant in the lawsuit is Daegu City, and Daegu City is currently reviewing whether to file an immediate appeal. The government stated that it will actively support any necessary parts depending on Daegu City's review results regarding the appeal.

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