Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on April 1 holds a meeting of the Central Disease Control Headquarters on responding to COVID-19 at Government Complex-Seoul. (Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism)
By Sarah Oqelee and Lee Jihae
Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun on April 1 announced the country’s adoption of a “vaccine passport” containing a person’s record of getting inoculated against COVID-19.
Speaking to a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters at Government Complex-Seoul, he said, “Only the adoption of a vaccine passport or green card can enable people to feel recovery in their daily lives.”
The prime minister said the government has completed its development of a system allowing users to readily verify their vaccinations on their smartphones, a project that was started early this year.
“We will officially open the accredited app within the month,” he added.
On the safety of the vaccine passport, he said, “We utilized block chain technology to completely block the possibility of counterfeiting and forgery and will never store personal information,” adding, “We also developed this to allow confirmation by other countries.”
Prime Minister Chung urged the public to actively participate in discussions on the adoption of an international vaccine passport and prepare in advance so that they can conveniently travel abroad and return home.
On the start of inoculations from April 1 using the Pfizer vaccine for those aged 75 or older, he urged active participation.
sarahoqelee@korea.kr
