South Korea and Japan have agreed to exempt South Korean business travelers from a two-week quarantine if they test negative for COVID-19, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. 

Taking effect Thursday, the eased entry barriers arrive about seven months after Tokyo slapped strict travel restrictions on Seoul, practically banning entry to people traveling from South Korea, in early March amid the coronavirus outbreak. The restrictions dealt a further blow to bilateral ties that were already frail over issues concerning trade and the region’s wartime history. Korea, in response, tightened entry restrictions and halted visa-free entry for Japanese visitors. 

Under the special entry procedure, Korean businesspeople on short-term business trips of up to 90 days will be allowed entry after first obtaining visas at the embassy. The same rules will apply to people intending to stay in Japan as long-term residents. The Japanese Embassy here will start taking visa applications Thursday. 

Short-term visitors, known as “business-track” visitors, will be exempt from the mandatory two-week quarantine if they submit proof that they have tested negative for COVID-19 within three days before departure. They also need to buy private medical insurance. 

Upon arrival in Japan, the visitor has to submit to the immigration authorities proof of a negative COVID-19 test, a health certificate, a written pledge and a schedule of their activities in Japan filled out by the host company in Japan. At the airport, they will be tested for the virus again. 

While in Japan, the visitor is not allowed to use public transportation for the first two weeks, and can only travel between their accommodations and workplace in a private vehicle. They are also required to provide information on their health and whereabouts through the app for 14 days. 

Korean nationals visiting Japan for a long-term stay, the “residence track,” are required to be tested for COVID-19 upon arrival and to self-isolate for two weeks. 

The special entry system with Tokyo is expected to improve bilateral relations and help the two countries restart people-to-people exchanges, the ministry said. Both sides have been in discussion since July on lifting the entry restrictions as a way to minimize the economic fallout from the pandemic. During the recent phone call between Korean President Moon Jae-in and Japan’s new Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga last month, the two welcomed the imminent arrival of “fast-track entry” and expressed hope of developing bilateral ties by resuming exchanges. 

The Federation of Korean Industries on Tuesday welcomed the special entry program, expressing hope that it will be a “big help in exchanges between the businesspeople from the two countries that have suffered due to COVID-19.”

Seoul has been seeking to implement special entry programs for business travelers from various countries, free of coronavirus entry restrictions. It has so far implemented such programs with China, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia and Singapore.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)