South Korea adopts electronic travel authorisation to stave off infectious disease
Record ID:
1631713
South Korea adopts electronic travel authorisation to stave off infectious disease
- Title: South Korea adopts electronic travel authorisation to stave off infectious disease
- Date: 11th August 2021
- Summary: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (AUGUST 11, 2021) (REUTERS) PEOPLE LISTENING TO PRESENTATION IN K-ETA OFFICE PEOPLE SEATED PERSON SPEAKING IN FRONT OF DISPLAY / SIGN READING (English): "K-ETA / KOREA ELECTRONIC TRAVEL AUTHORIZATION" BULLETIN BOARD SHOWING WAITING PROCESS BULLETIN BOARD SHOWING WORLD MAP PEOPLE WITH FACE MASKS USING MOBILE PHONES VARIOUS OF OFFICIAL EXPLAINING IN FRONT OF BULLETIN BOARD SHOWING SCREENING PROCESS BULLETIN BOARD SOUTH KOREA'S JUSTICE MINISTER, PARK BEOM-KYE, SEATED (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) SOUTH KOREA'S JUSTICE MINISTER, PARK BEOM-KYE, SAYING: "As the procedure allows foreigners wishing to enter South Korea to acquire travel permit electronically in advance, it will serve as an efficient method that can effectively prevent COVID pandemic or other variants and in times when a new type of infectious disease emerges." PARK SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) SOUTH KOREA'S JUSTICE MINISTER, PARK BEOM-KYE, SAYING: "Now that we're pre-screening, they have to inform us if they had visited high risk areas, especially in relation to the coronavirus, or if there's a possibility of outbreak from where they live. If we consider it (the applicant) to be of high risk, of course, we will deny entry." OFFICIALS UNVEILING SIGN / SIGN READING (Korean and English): "KOREAN ELECTRONIC TRAVEL AUTHORIZATION CENTER" EMPTY AIRPORT CLOSED CHECK IN COUNTERS / BANNER READING (Korean): "WE ARE CHECKING BODY TEMPERATURES" WORDS PRINTED ON LINES READING (Korean and English): "KAC, KOREA AIRPORTS CORPORATION" CLOSED CHECK IN COUNTERS
- Embargoed: 25th August 2021 11:24
- Keywords: ETA South Korea coronavirus electronic travel authorization immigration justice ministry pandemic
- Location: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
- City: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA
- Country: South Korea
- Topics: Asia / Pacific,Health/Medicine
- Reuters ID: LVA001EPU3A6F
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: South Korea is implementing for the first time an electronic travel authorisation (ETA) system for overseas visitors from September, as the COVID-19 pandemic forces open the way for a policy previously opposed by the country's tourism industry.
The justice ministry said the system will be a long-term way to pre-emptively head off any contagious disease as well as limit the number of undocumented immigrants, which had risen in the years before the pandemic. Most visa waivers were suspended as the pandemic worsened in April 2020.
When border controls ease, the ETA system will be in place to help prevent the entry of infectious disease to the country by requiring travellers to share their previous two weeks of travel history, Justice Minister Park Beom-kye told Reuters in an interview on Wednesday (August 11). It will also enable a prompt entry ban on a certain country if and when a contagious outbreak occurs, Park said.
A pilot programme has been in place since May, and the full system will be implemented on Sept. 1. South Korea will be the fifth country to adopt an ETA, an automated system used to identify in advance the eligibility of visitors to enter the country without a visa, Park said.
(Production: Dogyun Kim, Yeni Seo, Heejung Jung) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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