Yin Xiyue asked the South Korean Foreign Ministry to fully explain its position to China.

On June 5438+00, the Embassy of China in South Korea issued a notice on suspending the issuance of short-term visas for Korean citizens to China. According to Yonhap News Agency, South Korean President Yin Xiyue 1 1 said that the South Korean government "formulated epidemic prevention policies based on scientific basis, and the relevant measures were aimed at protecting citizens" and asked the South Korean Foreign Ministry to fully explain the ROK's position to China.

Yin Xiyue 1 1 Hearing the work report of the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2023. Source: Yonhap News Agency.

South Korean Foreign Minister park geun-hye said that Yin Xiyue made the above remarks when listening to the work report of the Korean Foreign Ministry in 2023. Park geun-hye reported to Yin Xiyue at the meeting that "the government gives priority to national life safety and adopts epidemic prevention measures, and relevant measures are based on science and objectivity."

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Many countries welcomed China's announcement of the overall plan to deal with the epidemic of B and B virus infection in COVID-19 and the interim measures for the exchange of Chinese and foreign personnel, but a few countries announced that they would take entry restrictions on tourists from China. Among them, South Korea is one of the countries that adopt discriminatory entry restrictions on China.

65438 10 2, the Korean government suspended the issuance of short-term visas to South China citizens, and suspended plans to increase the number of flights departing from China. Flights from Chinese mainland can only enter through Incheon Airport.

On the 5th, the Korean epidemic prevention department required all entry personnel from China to provide negative proof of nucleic acid test within 48 hours before boarding or negative proof of antigen test issued by medical institutions within 24 hours before boarding.

According to the news recently exposed by domestic netizens, they are suspected of being discriminated against at the airport after entering Korea. After getting off the plane, they will receive a yellow sign, be asked to hang it around their necks, and then be taken to a separate area for nucleic acid testing.

On June 5438+00, the Embassy of China in South Korea issued a notice on suspending the issuance of short-term visas for Korean citizens to China: According to domestic instructions, from now on, the Embassy of China in South Korea will suspend the issuance of short-term visas for Korean citizens to China for business, tourism, medical care, transit and general private affairs. The above measures will be adjusted according to the lifting of discriminatory entry restrictions on China by South Korea.

On June 5438+0 1, the website of the National Immigration Bureau released a message saying that in view of the recent discriminatory entry restrictions adopted by a few countries against China citizens, the National Immigration Bureau suspended the issuance of port visas to Korean and Japanese citizens from now on, and suspended the 72/ 144-hour transit visa-free policy for Korean and Japanese citizens.

Wang Wenbin, a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, pointed out earlier that we once again call on the countries concerned to proceed from the facts and formulate epidemic prevention measures scientifically and moderately, and should not take the opportunity to engage in political manipulation or adopt discriminatory practices, and should not affect the normal personnel exchanges and cooperation between countries.

Extended reading:

Korean media: Korean tourists don't come to China, and businesses realize that a large time-honored brand in Seoul has closed down.

According to reports, on June 1 1, "W Shopping Center" said that the mall would be closed in September this year. After signing a land sale contract with real estate developers in May last year, the sale price reached160 billion won. According to "Korea Economy", W Shopping Center is a representative outlet shopping center, located in Rodeo Street, Ole distribution center in Kasong, Seoul. The mall covers an area of 33,000 square meters, with 10 floors above ground and 4 floors underground. It has been in business for 27 years. However, in recent years, affected by the COVID-19 epidemic, the sales performance of shopping malls has seriously declined, and the operating conditions are increasingly worrying, mainly due to the loss of consumers from China.

According to the report, in the context of economic recession and stagnant consumption, outlet shopping centers are usually an important channel for the sustained growth of the circulation industry in South Korea. However, since the COVID-19 epidemic became a global epidemic in 2020, Ole's sales performance has been declining year by year. "W Shopping Center" is located in Jiashan Cave, Seoul. Before 2020, the residences of group tourists from China were often arranged in this area, and many "free travellers" and "daigou" from China came to spend money. According to statistics, the consumption of tourists from China accounts for 30% to 40% of the sales share of Ole Shopping Center in this region. However, after the epidemic spread, consumers in China disappeared, and outlets in Jiashandong area began to lose their foothold.

An industry insider told the Korean Economy, "Before the epidemic, there were always many tourists from China carrying big bags and even suitcases to shop on weekdays and weekends, but this situation is hard to see again in recent years." "In the past, a large part of VIP customers in shopping malls were' purchased' by China, but now their proportion in the overall sales share has dropped sharply."

According to previous reports, on the 2nd of this month, the South Korean government suspended the issuance of China's short-term visa to South Korea and suspended plans to increase flights from China. At the same time, it requires flights from Chinese mainland to enter only from Incheon Airport, and imposes discriminatory entry restrictions on China tourists. On June 5438+00, the Embassy of China in South Korea announced that it would suspend the issuance of short-term visas for some Korean citizens to China. "The above measures will be adjusted according to the lifting of discriminatory entry restrictions in South Korea."

With China and South Korea suspending the issuance of short-term visas to each other's citizens, the recovery of South Korea's tourism industry is once again under pressure, and it is expected that the business activities of enterprises in various related industries will be affected. In this regard, major travel agencies, airlines, duty-free shops and cosmetics companies in South Korea are all worried about the current situation. The Korean tourism industry generally believes that if the current situation is prolonged, it will affect the development of related industries, and what enterprises and individuals can do is very limited. I hope that the Korean government departments will come forward to solve it as soon as possible.

China and South Korea stop issuing short-term visas to each other. Korean media: Korean tourism and other industries are worried

According to Yonhap News Agency 10, with the suspension of short-term visas issued by China and South Korea to each other's citizens, the recovery of South Korea's tourism industry is under pressure again, and it is expected that the business activities of enterprises in related industries will be affected. In this regard, major travel agencies, airlines, duty-free shops and cosmetics companies in South Korea are all worried about the current situation.

It is reported that on the 2nd of this month, the South Korean government suspended the issuance of short-term visas for China to go to South Korea and suspended plans to increase the number of flights departing from China. At the same time, it requires flights from Chinese mainland to enter only from Incheon Airport, and imposes discriminatory entry restrictions on China tourists. On June 5438+00, the Embassy of China in South Korea announced that it would suspend the issuance of short-term visas for some Korean citizens to China. "The above measures will be adjusted according to the lifting of discriminatory entry restrictions in South Korea." In this regard, various industries closely related to tourism in South Korea are worried.

109, 65438 China tourists entered Korea from Incheon airport. Image from Korean media

According to the report, people in the Korean tourism industry said on 10 that although the schedule and route planning of tourism products between the two countries have taken shape, the major travel agencies still failed to successfully launch the prepared related products because the flights between the two countries have not recovered to the pre-epidemic level and the Korean government has strengthened epidemic prevention measures for inbound passengers from China. The staff of South Korea's Mode Travel Agency said, "With the South Korean government strengthening the epidemic prevention measures for immigrants from China, the tourism products originally intended to be sold to China tourists are in a state of stagnation and wait-and-see", and "relevant policies keep throwing cold water on them". Asiana Travel Agency also said, "If the current situation affects the feelings between the two countries, it will not be conducive to restarting and restoring tourism, and the future prospects are not optimistic." In the long run, we are very worried. The Korean tourism industry generally believes that the part that enterprises and individuals can do is very limited, and they feel helpless about it. I hope that the Korean government departments will come forward to solve it as soon as possible.

In addition, Korean aviation industry, duty-free shops and cosmetics companies are also paying close attention to the relevant situation. Relevant parties believe that if the current situation continues, it is likely to have an impact on this year's work plan. A related person from an airline in South Korea said that due to the visa policies of the two countries, the expectations of all parties for resuming the route between South Korea and China have declined, which will become a stumbling block to the development of the industry. A person related to the tax-free industry said that due to the impact of Sadr and the epidemic, the marketing performance of Korean duty-free shops has been sluggish for years. It was originally expected that tourists from China would resume their sales performance in the second quarter of this year, but at present, the relevant plans may be affected by the visa policies of the two countries.

China passengers entering South Korea from Incheon Airport were forced to wear a "small yellow card" issued by Incheon Airport for nucleic acid testing. Image from Korean media

According to previous reports, recently, netizens in China kept breaking the news, saying that South Korea's epidemic prevention measures against China tourists were "insulting" and "only targeted at China people". A number of netizens said that when they got off the plane, the Korean airport staff gave them a yellow sign and asked them to hang it around their necks. After that, they were taken to the designated area for nucleic acid testing "like criminals".

On June 10, the Embassy of China in South Korea issued a notice: From now on, the Embassy and Consulate of China in South Korea will suspend the issuance of short-term visas for Korean citizens to come to China for business, tourism, medical care, transit and general private affairs. On the same day, China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said that he once again called on the countries concerned to formulate epidemic prevention measures scientifically and properly according to the facts, and not to take the opportunity to engage in political manipulation and discriminatory practices, which should not affect the normal personnel exchanges, exchanges and cooperation between countries.