Passengers at Gimpo International Airport, Seoul, South Korea. (Source: Reuters)

On March 18, the RoK decided to list Viet Nam among countries subjected to strengthened medical supervision as part of its measures to prevent the pandemic.

Accordingly, from April 1, travelers from Viet Nam, vaccinated against COVID-19 or not, will have to take a mandatory seven-day quarantine. Flights from Viet Nam to the RoK will be allowed to carry passenger numbers equivalent to only 60 percent of their capacity.

According to Thuy, over the years, the number of Vietnamese guest workers in the RoK has risen, and Viet Nam has become one of the three countries receiving the earliest permission to send labourers to the RoK right after the country accepts foreign labourers again.

The Vietnamese Government has officially announced a full opening for international arrivals and visa exemption for citizens from 13 countries, including the RoK, she said, holding that the mandatory quarantine policy for people from Viet Nam will increase costs for labourers and force Korean employers to wait for longer. This will reduce the competitiveness of Vietnamese labourers compared to those from other countries, Thuy stressed.

She highlighted that Viet Nam and the RoK enjoy thriving relations. This year, as the two countries will celebrate the 30^th anniversary of their diplomatic ties, visits and exchange activities will increase. Therefore, the listing of Viet Nam among countries for strengthened pandemic measures will cause difficulties for Viet Nam and affect Korean investors’ activities as well as visits by members of Korean-Vietnamese families, Thuy added.

Viet Nam is the third largest trade partner of the RoK and a favourite travel destination of Koreans. The measures are predicted to pose negative impacts on tourism cooperation between the two countries.