"No Data or Science"... Korea-China Quarantine 'Tug of War'

Scientific Judgment Excluded 'Nerve War' Backstory
Unpredictable Quarantine Measures
Only Koreans Traveling Between Two Countries Suffer Losses

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Kim Hyunjung] The 'quarantine retaliation' between Korea and China is escalating into a psychological battle that excludes scientific judgment or evidence. The unpredictable quarantine policies seem to only increase the inconvenience for frontline workers and expatriates traveling between the two countries.

According to the Consular Section of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in China on the 31st, the Civil Aviation Administration of China notified airlines of both countries that all passengers arriving on flights from Korea will undergo polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing at the arrival airport starting February 1, the following day. If the PCR test result is positive, the entrant will be quarantined at home or their accommodation. China, which abolished quarantine policies for entrants as of the 8th of this month, had also stopped universal PCR testing for incoming passengers on flights. It is known that Korea is the only country whose entrants are subject to PCR testing by China.

On the 2nd, when the government reinstated the mandatory COVID-19 PCR testing for arrivals from China, passengers from China were waiting to be tested at the COVID-19 Arrival Testing Center at Incheon International Airport Terminal 1.
Yeongjongdo - Photo by Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

This decision by China is interpreted as retaliation against the Korean government's measure to suspend the issuance of short-term visas to Korea at Chinese diplomatic missions from February 2, except for diplomatic/official, essential business operations, and humanitarian reasons. Korea recently announced an extension of the visa suspension period, originally until January 31, to February 28. Mao Ning, spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also commented on this measure, stating, "It is regrettable that individual countries still insist on discriminatory entry restrictions against China," and "China firmly opposes this and has reasons to take necessary reciprocal measures."

The problem is that scientific judgment or evidence is being excluded from the quarantine responses between the two countries. Korea's COVID-19 confirmed cases reached 80,000 at the beginning of this year but decreased to about 20,000 by January 31, with no notable differences in the trend compared to other countries. Moreover, China, having abandoned its zero-COVID policy last month, does not conduct PCR tests on entrants, so it lacks any basis to judge whether the positivity rate among Korean entrants is high or low.

China, which recently disclosed unusually detailed information on COVID-19 confirmed cases, variant virus emergence, and severe cases, also questions the Korean government's judgment. In particular, the positivity rate among entrants from China arriving in Korea (according to Korean data) surged to 15.2% in early January but dropped to about 1.4% by January 30. The positivity rate of airport PCR tests also sharply declined from 31.5% to 0.9% during the same period.

As the quarantine psychological battle between the two countries reduces predictability in the immigration process, the damage is directly borne by expatriates and field personnel traveling between the two countries. Considering that February is the vacation season for elementary, middle, and high schools in both countries, students studying abroad traveling between their home countries are expected to experience the greatest inconvenience. Furthermore, specific details such as the method and location of PCR testing for entrants from Korea, costs and who bears them, and quarantine duration, which China notified only one day before implementation, have yet to be properly confirmed.

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