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Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum speaks at a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters in theGovernment Complex Seoul on April 29. (Yonhap News)

As of Monday, May 2, people in South Korea will no longer have to wear masks outdoors. But individuals will still be required to wear masks at outdoor gatherings, concerts and sporting events with more than 50 people in attendance.

“Considering the public’s fervent desire to return to normal routines and the fact that infections have been declining for six weeks since the peak of this wave, we have decided to continue relaxing pandemic restrictions,” said Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum while announcing new masking guidelines during a COVID-19 response meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters held at the Government Complex Seoul on Friday.

“When the government relaxed social distancing rules on April 18, we promised to decide whether to end outdoor mask-wearing after seeing how the disease develops over the next two weeks. There were concerns from some sectors, but we could no longer ignore the discomfort and frustration of people who couldn’t even take off their mask when going for a solitary walk or a family outing,” Kim explained.

However, the government has decided to keep mask-wearing requirements for gatherings, concerts, and sporting events attended by 50 or more people because of the infection risk associated with cheering and crowds.

Kim added that the government is actively encouraging mask-wearing outdoors for people in high-risk groups, people exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, and people who are coughing and sneezing but cannot stay at least 1 meter away from other people in a crowd.

“This decision to end outdoor mask-wearing was made following expert analysis, consideration of global trends, and a vigorous debate within the government,” Kim said.

“Most of all, we based this decision on our trust in the mature attitude exhibited by Koreans as they cooperated with disease control measures over the past two years. While we are lifting the requirement to wear masks outside, we ask people to voluntarily wear masks even outside when that is necessary to prevent the disease from spreading,” he added.

By Joh Yun-yeong, staff reporter

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