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| A woman scans the QR code of a vaccine pass app on a mobile phone to enter a large retail store in Daegu, Monday. Yonhap |
By Lee Hyo-jin
Criticism is mounting over the COVID-19 vaccine pass mandate for large supermarkets, discount outlets and department stores, which came into effect from Monday, with critics calling on the government to justify the scientific grounds for implementing the new measure.
The vaccine pass system, which requires either proof of vaccination or a negative PCR test result to be presented to enter multiuse facilities, has been expanded to shopping malls, retail outlets, department stores and bookstores measuring 3,000 square meters or more in floor space.
These large stores have been freshly added to the list of multiuse facilities subject to the vaccine pass system, including eateries, cafes, libraries and indoor gyms.
But criticism is escalating over the system, among people who find it unscientific and excessive.
According to government data, 427 and 327 infections occurred at large retail stores and department stores, in 2021, respectively, whereas 7,491 cases were linked to churches. But religious facilities still remain excluded from the vaccine pass since it was introduced on Dec. 6.
Unvaccinated individuals protested the "unfair and unscientific" measures for limiting their civil liberties, with even some fully vaccinated people viewing the latest measure as excessive.
"I don't understand why the vaccine pass system is necessary here when the free sample corners are all closed and people are wearing their masks properly," said Park Jin-sook, a woman in her 50s who visited a department store in Yeongdeungpo District, Seoul, Monday.
Kim Jeong-mi, a housewife in Seoul, said, "My son suffered from heart inflammation after his second dose from Pfizer, so I'm opposed to vaccine mandates being expanded to everywhere. I think the government is trying to push unimmunized people into a corner so that they would rather choose to receive the vaccine in the end, but that seems like a very dangerous plan."
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| An employee at a department store in Seoul helps a visitor scan the QR code of a vaccine pass app on a mobile phone upon entering the facility, Monday. Yonhap |
People are also questioning why employees working at large stores are exempt from the vaccine requirement, while visitors, who stay there for only a few hours, are barred from entering.
The health ministry explained that this measure is to prevent them from facing workplace discrimination due to their vaccine status.
Medical experts called on the government to be transparent and clear in communicating with the public before making decisions that will affect people's everyday lives.
"The vaccine pass, inadvertently, curtails individual freedom. So there should have been more public discussions about it, and the authorities should have provided scientific evidence why the mandate is inevitable in certain public places and why it is unnecessary in other areas," said Kim Woo-joo, a professor of infectious diseases at Korea University.
Jacob Lee, a professor of infectious diseases at Hallym University Medical Center, who views that the vaccine pass mandates are necessary in general, echoed similar comments.
"The decisions (on the vaccine pass at large retailers) came when the country was grappling with a surge in infections. But I do agree that the government should have gathered more public opinion and taken a more prudent approach on the matter," he said during an interview with local radio station CBS.
The health ministry, for its part, is standing firm on its decision that the vaccine pass is an effective measure to protect the unvaccinated group and curb further infections.
"The aim of the vaccine pass is not to increase the inoculation rate, but to minimize damage to the public health system," ministry spokesperson Son Young-rae said during a briefing, Monday.
He also stressed that Korea has less restrictive measures compared to some other countries where similar policies are implemented, and even allows unvaccinated people to sit in cafes and eateries if they are alone.
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