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People walk by a duty-free shop at Incheon International Airport Terminal 1 after duty-free shops at the arrival terminal reopened on Friday. (Yonhap News)

Beginning next month, those fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will be allowed to travel to Singapore and other participating nations of the COVID-19 travel safety zone or travel bubble.

South Korean Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said, “In agreement with countries with successful preventative efforts against COVID-19, the government plans to permit group travel as early as July for those completely vaccinated against COVID-19,” at a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on Wednesday.

Also in attendance at the meeting, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced that they will promote a travel safety zone for group travel in conjunction with countries that have successfully managed the outbreak of COVID-19.

The government is in the process of establishing this travel safety zone with Singapore, Thailand, Guam, and Saipan. Working-level discussions with Singapore are currently underway.

Upon implementing this policy, the government has decided to permit group tours via direct flights for those completely vaccinated against COVID-19.

Travelers must have received vaccination in Korea or their destination country and must submit a vaccination certificate upon entering a foreign country. Travelers must also undergo COVID-19 testing within three days of departure and provide a certificate showing a negative test result.

Upon entry to their destination, travelers must submit to a nucleic acid amplification COVID-19 test. Travel agencies are urged to have personnel in charge of quarantine management, ensure compliance with all guidelines, and check for symptoms in travelers. Children and adolescents who have not received vaccination will not be allowed to accompany overseas travelers.

Yoon Tae-ho, a senior health ministry official, said, “It’s difficult to oversee travel for families or small groups, so we decided to designate a quarantine manager and permit limited group travel with travel companies being responsible for making sure travelers follow all the guidelines. After a period of evaluation, we hope to expand this program.”

The government has concluded that the risk of an influx of variant strains of COVID-19 is not high due to quarantine measures currently in place.

By Kim Ji-hoon, staff reporter

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]