Korea mulls lifting pre-departure COVID-19 tests for inbound travelers

An arriving traveler waits to receive a PCR test at a testing site installed at Incheon International Airport, Wednesday. Yonhap

By Lee Hyo-jin

The government is reviewing whether to lift COVID-19 testing regulations for inbound travelers in response to calls from the tourism industry and businesses to drop the stringent border control measure that now remains in only a few countries.

Under current measures, all travelers, regardless of their vaccination history and nationality, must submit the results of a PCR test taken within 48 hours prior to traveling to Korea or a rapid antigen test taken within 24 hours prior to travel. Travelers should also receive a PCR test within one day after arriving in Korea.

Korea is one of the few countries with such strict requirements, along with China and Japan.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), among OECD member states, 10 countries have COVID-19-related restrictions on overseas entrants such as the requirement of pre-departure tests or vaccinations.

Currently, unvaccinated individuals are banned from traveling to the United States, Canada and New Zealand, while Spain, Chile, Colombia, and Lithuania require unvaccinated entrants to submit a negative PCR test result.

Japan and Korea are the only OECD countries with a pre-entry test requirement for fully vaccinated travelers. But Japan has recently decided to scrap the measure beginning from Sept. 7, which would make Korea the only OECD country keeping the requirement.

In recent months, calls have been mounting from the tourism industry and local businesses to lift the pre-entry testing requirement, which they view as a major inconvenience to travelers and a setback in the economy's revival.

People have also complained that it is becoming increasingly difficult or expensive to receive COVID-19 tests within the required period, especially in foreign countries where testing capacity has been greatly reduced.

The KDCA, which has maintained a cautious stance on the matter, hinted at a possible relaxation of the policy.

“We are reviewing how to adjust the measure considering the possible effects it would bring to the overall virus situation,” said KDCA spokesperson Ko Jae-young during a briefing, Thursday.

The agency said, Sunday, that it will take part in discussions with medical experts later this week, after which it will announce its decision.

Meanwhile, the country added 85,295 new infections for Saturday, including 84,932 local cases and 363 from overseas, raising the country's aggregate total number of infections to 22,983,818.