Businesspeople to get entry ban exemption for China

Korean businesspeople check in at Incheon International Airport, Wednesday, to leave for Vietnam, as the Vietnamese government has granted them exemptions from entry ban imposed to prevent spread of COVID-19. / Yonhap

By Kang Seung-woo

Korea and China have agreed to introduce a fast-track entry system allowing Korean businessmen to travel to 10 Chinese areas despite current entry restrictions imposed to counter the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the foreign ministry, Wednesday.

This is the first time the Chinese government has reached a fast-track agreement with a country amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Under the plan that will take effect May 1, when Chinese companies or Korean firms operating in those regions apply for the special entry of Korean businesspeople who have visas from the Chinese authorities, they can enter the 10 regions, which include Shanghai, Tianjin and Shandong Province.

The agreement came after Seoul and Beijing had a video conference on cooperation on coronavirus quarantine measures.

“The Chinese government plans to introduce the entry system in the 10 areas first, where the two nations' companies are making economic exchanges and trades,” the ministry said in a statement.

Businesspeople who will enter via the system are required to check their health condition, including temperature, for at least 14 days before departure, and undergo COVID-19 tests within 72 hours before their departure and carry health certificates proving they are not infected. Upon arriving in China, they will undergo another test and self-isolation for one day or two.

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, a total of 340 Korean businessmen departed for Vietnam after the Southeast Asian country granted them exemptions from its entry ban on foreigners amid the coronavirus pandemic.

According to the foreign ministry, the employees from 143 local companies, including 127 small- and medium-sized enterprises, left Incheon International Airport at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. on chartered flights.

Before the departure, they underwent COVID-19 tests and all tested negative. Upon arriving at Van Don International Airport in Quang Ninh Province, 153 kilometers east of Hanoi, they will undergo a 14-day quarantine at their hotels before beginning work, May 13.

The exceptional entry status was granted while the Vietnamese government has banned all foreign nationals from entering the country since March 22 in a bid to slow the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak. In addition, it also suspended all international flights to the country starting this month.

Although Vietnam had granted special entry status to workers from LG Electronics and Samsung Display last month, it was difficult for each small company to talk with the Vietnamese government about entry permission for a small number of workers. So the Korean government acted on behalf of multiple companies and discussed the group's entry with the Vietnamese administration. President Moon Jae-in also had a phone conversation with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc earlier this month and asked him to grant a waiver on the travel restrictions.

“It is the first case during the pandemic for Vietnam to have allowed such a large group of workers from different companies to enter at the same time,” a foreign ministry official said.