A senior South Korean official stated on Wednesday that, beginning next month, travelers from China will not be required to take a COVID-19 test upon arrival in South Korea; however, they will still be required to take pre-departure tests.
A senior South Korean official stated on Wednesday that, beginning next month, travelers from China will not be required to take a COVID-19 test upon arrival, but they will still be required to take pre-departure tests as part of the country’s latest relaxation of rules implemented following China’s reopening.

After Beijing’s decision to relax its stringent zero-COVID policies, South Korea imposed a number of border restrictions on Chinese passengers; however, it has since relaxed some of these restrictions, citing an improved COVID situation in its neighbor.

During a meeting on responses to the COVID pandemic, vice ministerial official at the Ministry of Interior and Safety Kim Sung-ho stated, “Additional easing of quarantine measures appear possible” as the positive rate among arrivals from China decreased from 18.4% in the first week of January to 0.6% in the third week of February.
Kim stated that passengers from China will continue to be required to undergo PCR tests prior to departure until March 10 in order to monitor and evaluate the impact of the relaxation of other COVID rules.

Prior to Beijing lifting similar visa restrictions imposed in response to Seoul’s border restrictions, South Korea resumed issuing short-term visas to Chinese travelers.