À̹ÌÁö È®´ë South Korea¡¯s Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun. [Photo by Yonhap]
The Seoul government will temporarily halt visa waiver and visa-free entry programs for countries that forbid entry of South Koreans to restrict non-essential entries by foreigners.
¡°While keeping the basis of openness, we will tighten (entry) restrictions based on a principle of reciprocity,¡± Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said at a meeting held on Wednesday to explore ways to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The government will discuss stricter measures to prevent coronavirus cases being imported from other countries, Chung said, urging related ministries to set up their own plans.
The tightening control came amid heightened risk of imported coronavirus cases by visitors from foreign nations, despite the government¡¯s mandatory two-week quarantine for all international entrants since April 1.
À̹ÌÁö È®´ë [Photo by Yonhap]
Currently, 148 countries including 41 European nations and 36 in the Asian-Pacific region ban entry of Korean visitors. The list includes Japan, Australia, Canada, Russia, France and Vietnam.
South Korea allows visa-free entry for visitors from 116 nations. As of February 12, the government signed a visa waiver agreement on ordinary passports with 69 countries including Britain, Germany, France, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates and Mexico. Visitors from 47 nations including the U.S., Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia and Argentina can enter the country without visa.
By Ahn Jung-hoon and Choi Mira
[¨Ï Pulse by Maeil Business Newspaper & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]