2021 Year-End New Year Enhanced Social Distancing Measures (December 18, January 2) Expired

As COVID-19 confirmed cases and critically ill patients surged in December 2021 and the healthcare system approached its limits, the government introduced a “brief pause on the return to everyday life” to protect lives and reduce harm to people’s livelihoods. This page is a historical record of the strengthened public health measures that were in effect for 16 days, from Saturday 18 December 2021 through Sunday 2 January 2022.

① Restrictions on Private Gatherings

During this period, the number of people allowed to meet privately was restricted. However, the following situations were granted exceptions.

Recognized Exceptions

• Household family gatherings: Families who could prove their relationship through a certificate of residence or a family relations certificate were exempt. Even couples or family members living apart temporarily due to work or study were allowed to gather during weekends or school holidays.
• Care situations: Where care was needed for children aged 12 or under, elderly people, or people with disabilities, caregivers (such as childcare workers, care workers for the elderly, and personal assistants for people with disabilities) were permitted to be present.
• Imminent death: Families gathering to be with a loved one who was close to death were also exempt.

② Restrictions on Venue Operating Hours

Public-use venues were divided into three groups based on risk level, and operating hours were limited accordingly.

Open until 9:00 p.m. only (Groups 1 and 2)

Open until 10:00 p.m. only (Group 3 and others)

Note: For tutoring academies, the 10:00 p.m. closing rule applied only to vocational and lifelong-learning academies.

③ Reduced Scale for Large Events and Gatherings, and Expanded Vaccine Pass Requirements

Event Size Limits

Local festivals, briefings, public hearings, forums, commemorations, retreats, book signings, lectures, competitions, training sessions, weddings, funerals, receptions, and first birthday celebrations organized by organizations, corporations, public institutions, or government bodies were all subject to size restrictions.

• Events of 300 or more people (at non-regular performance venues, sporting events, and festivals) required approval from the relevant government ministry. During the two-week strengthened period, approval was effectively not granted except for essential events.

Expanded Vaccine Pass Requirements

The vaccine pass requirement was extended to events that had previously been exempt, including:

• Corporate annual general meetings, National Assembly sessions for budget and legislation, broadcasting production and transmission, and other essential public and corporate activities
• Exhibitions and trade fairs (one person per 6 ㎡ of floor space) and international conferences (two empty seats between every seated person), which had previously been managed under separate rules

Special Rules for Weddings

Couples could choose one of two options:

1. Apply the general gathering and event rules: Under 50 people could attend regardless of vaccination status; 50 or more attendees required all to be fully vaccinated, up to a maximum of 299.
2. Apply the previous rules: Up to 49 unvaccinated people plus up to 201 fully vaccinated people, for a maximum of 250 total.

④ Stricter Rules for Religious Venues

These measures were announced separately before the implementation date (18 December 2021), following a review by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

⑤ Other Everyday-Life Distancing Measures

Schools

• All schools in the Seoul metropolitan area and large or overcrowded schools elsewhere adjusted student density to a two-thirds level (effective Monday 20 December 2021).
• Elementary schools, including Years 1 and 2, followed a five-sixths density rule.
• Kindergartens, special-education schools, childcare facilities, small schools, and schools in rural and farming or fishing communities operated normally.

Workplaces

• Employers were encouraged to promote remote working, introduce staggered arrival and departure times, and hold meetings by video call as a default, in order to reduce crowding in workplaces and prevent cluster infections.

Public Institutions

• In-person events were to be postponed or cancelled, and staff were asked to strictly avoid social gatherings and after-work meals.

Vaccine Pass (Vaccination Certificate and Negative Test Confirmation System), Where It Applied

Venues Where It Was Mandatory (16 Types in Total)

At venues where the vaccine pass was mandatory, unvaccinated people were not permitted to enter. In return, density limits at these venues were lifted.

Entertainment venues (adult entertainment bars, hostess bars, clubs, nightclubs, hunting pojangmacha, mood bars), ballrooms and dance halls, karaoke rooms, indoor sports and fitness facilities, public bathhouses, cycling and motorboat and horse-racing tracks and casinos, restaurants and cafes, tutoring academies, cinemas and performance venues, reading rooms and study cafes, multi-use rooms, PC cafes, indoor and outdoor sports stadiums, museums and art galleries and science museums, party rooms, libraries, massage and acupressure parlors.

Venues Where It Did Not Apply (14 Types in Total)

These venues could be used regardless of vaccination status.

Vaccine Pass Exemptions

People in the following situations could use vaccine-pass venues even without being vaccinated.

Please note: At venues where eating and drinking were not permitted, all food and beverages except water and non-alcoholic drinks were prohibited.

Note: This document is a historical record of the public health measures that were in effect on a temporary basis from 18 December 2021 to 2 January 2022. Those measures have since been lifted. For the latest public health policies or immigration-related information, please contact the Immigration Contact Center (1345) or your local Korea Immigration Service office.

Reference Links

• Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, official COVID-19 information
• Government24, obtain a certificate of residence or family relations certificate
• Immigration Contact Center 1345