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South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks Monday during a meeting to review pandemic countermeasures at the Blue House. (Yonhap News)

South Korean President Moon Jae-in promised to use information technology to minimize congestion at holiday destinations during the upcoming summer vacation. He also said the government would seek to administer the first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine to 70% of citizens by September so that families could meet each other without wearing masks over the long Chuseok holiday at the end of that month.

“If 14 million people receive their first shot of the COVID-19 vaccine by the end of this month, that will mean 28% of the total population have begun vaccination. That will make it possible for Koreans to enjoy a gradual return to everyday routines that COVID-19 stole,” Moon said in his opening remarks at a meeting to review pandemic countermeasures at the Blue House on Monday.

Moon said the goal is for Koreans to enjoy the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination during the summer vacation season and the Chuseok holiday.

“The government’s goal is to help Koreans relax a little more during the summer vacation and to restore a normal Chuseok in which people can reunite with their families and converse without wearing masks, at least around family members,” he said.

To make that possible, Moon said the government would use information technology and big data to reduce congestion at vacation spots and fine-tune rules for staying at accommodations, visiting museums, and attending sporting events and concerts.

Moon also recommended that companies spread out the times when their employees go on summer vacation.

Moon offered the following plan for enabling maskless meetings of family members for Chuseok. “In the third quarter, we will be administering the vaccine in stages, beginning with people in their 50s, so that 70% of the public, or 36 million people, can receive their first dose,” he said.

Moon also finalized a plan to normalize school operations in the fall semester by vaccinating teachers at daycare, kindergartens, and elementary, middle, and high schools starting in early July.

Moon’s plan appears intended to relieve the economic strain on small businesses and help restore everyday life as vaccinations lead to the loosening of social distancing restrictions.

The administration sees the drop in domestic consumption due to the pandemic as having led to severe polarization, including economic difficulties and unemployment for small businesses and mom-and-pop establishments. Higher vaccination rates and other disease control measures are essential if consumption is to be encouraged during the summer vacation season and national holidays.

“We are set to reach our primary vaccination target of 13 million people by the end of this month, and if we add the 1.01 million Janssen vaccines that we gained from [Moon’s recent] visit to the US, it looks as though it’s achievable to have over 14 million people vaccinated during the first half of the year,” Moon said.

His remarks read as a pledge to have even more people vaccinated than the “13 million plus alpha” predicted by disease prevention authorities.

Moon also said, “Despite some concerns and distrust toward vaccines, our vaccination rate has been increasing sharply, surpassing the global average last week and rapidly overtaking the countries that started ahead of us.”

He went on to announce plans to quickly establish contracts for vaccines to be used next year.

He ordered the acquisition of enough volumes for booster shots — which increase the length of time antibodies remain present after inoculation — and for an expanded range of age groups.

The meeting Monday was attended by Minister of Health and Welfare Kwon Deok-chul, Office for Government Policy Coordination Minister Koo Yun-cheol, Minister of Food and Drug Safety Kim Kang-lip, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency Commissioner Jung Eun-kyeong and Blue House disease control and prevention coordinator Ki Mo-ran.

By Lee Wan, staff reporter

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