FM accused of 'botched' handling of entry ban

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha answers to questions from lawmakers during an interpellation session at the National Assembly in Seoul, Monday. / Yonhap

By Kang Seung-woo

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, who is in the hot seat over a growing number of countries banning or restricting the entry of Korean citizens due to a surge in coronavirus cases here, could face a prosecution investigation after a civic group filed a complaint against her.

The Public Welfare Committee said Monday that it had requested the prosecution to investigate Kang for dereliction of duty as she “failed to manage the situation properly.”

“The number of countries which have imposed entry bans on Koreans and placed tighter entry restrictions on travelers from Korea has been rapidly increasing, but the foreign minister has dealt with the issue passively without making them aware that the epidemic did not originate in Korea,” the group said in the petition.

In addition, the civic group also accused Culture, Sports and Tourism Minister Park Yang-woo of the same dereliction of duty.

On Monday, the number of infections in the country topped 4,200, making it the largest outbreak outside China, where Wuhan in Hubei Province was the epicenter of the virus.

The foreign ministry said Kang and other ministry officials have been persuading countries not to impose such travel restrictions by explaining the government's responses to the epidemic, but the number of such countries and regions is growing to surpass 80.

Japan's foreign ministry has raised its alert level for travel to Daegu and Cheongdo, North Gyeongsang Province, to Level 3 on a four-level warning system, which advises people to cancel trips. The two southeastern cities are where the majority of recent infections have been confirmed. For other parts of Korea, Japan kept its alert at Level 1, which calls for “caution.”

On Saturday, the U.S. State Department escalated its travel advisory for Daegu to the highest level, urging Americans not to travel there due to the serious community transmission of the virus.

Despite the ballooning number of countries imposing restrictions, the foreign ministry said the government's efforts to convince them to “ease” travel measures were paying dividends to some extent.

“The Maldives was set to ban travelers arriving from Korea starting March 3, but after a phone call between Kang and her Maldivian counterpart, those departing from Seoul will be permitted into the country,” a senior ministry official said.

“Among the top 30 trading partners, Hong Kong, Turkey and Saudi Arabia had imposed an entry ban on Koreans, but the Saudi authorities are now allowing Koreans on employment and business skills visas to enter the country.”

The official also said there were few countries that would bring the entry ban into force in the future, saying its effectiveness was questionable and it could backfire.

“We explain to those countries that a high degree of openness and transparency has resulted in the rapid surge of confirmed coronavirus cases and they generally agree with us. However, each country decides on what action to take depending on its public health system capabilities and quarantine measures,” the official said.

The official added that the government is also in negotiations with more than 20 countries over their entry bans, to allow businessmen from Korea to enter.