Client Announcement: Update of the impact of COVID-19 in South Korea

Update of the impact of COVID-19 in South Korea

As COVID-19 is fast-spreading in South Korea and aggressively impacting the lives of our customers and business in South Korea, we would like to provide you with an update of the latest news from Santa Fe South Korea. Key highlights are summarized below:

Travel ban & restrictions

There are a number of countries that have issued travel bans or restrictions from South Korea.

Countries that have issued a travel ban for visitors coming from Korea or travelers who have visited Korea or specific parts of Korea in the last few weeks (times differ between countries):

Angola, American Samoa, Bahrain, Comoros, Cook Islands, El Salvador, Fiji, Hong Kong, Iraq, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kiribati, Kuwait, Lebanon, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia, Mongolia, Nauru, Palestine, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Solomon Islands, The Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Vietnam (Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2020/03/02)

The following countries have issued travel restrictions and/or quarantine for travelers from South Korea:

Albania, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, China (Beijing, Chongqing, Fujian, Guangdong, Heilongjiang, Jiangsu, Kirin/Jilin, Liaoning, Shanghai, Shantung, Shanxi, Sichuan, Tianjin, Zhejiang), Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Ecuador, Ethiopia, French Polynesia, Gabon, Great Britain, Honduras, Iceland, India, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Macao, Malawi, Mexico, Mozambique, Morocco, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Qatar, Serbia, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Zambia, Zimbabwe (Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 2020/03/02)

Travel to South Korea:

All foreign nationals who have been to the Hubei Province in China from 2020/01/21 onwards are banned from entering Korea. (Ministry of Justice, Korea Immigration Service)

Local travel restrictions have not been implemented in South Korea yet, however, the Korean government has urged people in Daegu city and  those who visited the virus hot-spot within the past 14 days to self-quarantine for at least two weeks. The government also recommends the public to avoid mass social gathering and to work at home.

Impact to relocation services

• Due to the severe situation in Daegu city and Cheongdo County as well as the area nearby we are facing major challenges to provide relocation services. If you are looking for assistance please contact us as we are unable to provide services for the time being.
• While there are no major interruptions in providing Moving and Destination services in Seoul, there may be still some interruptions with driver’s license conversions due to governmental office, center closures /irregular working hours.

Moving

Delays are expected for the export & import of goods into and out of South Korea due to the shutdowns in China mean that some vessels may not be able to enter or choose not to enter Chinese ports and they are redirected to the main port of South Korea in Busan resulting port congestion.

Immigration

As per the Immigration Office’s notice, foreigners whose current Visa and ARC expiry date is between 22 February 2020 and 29 April 2020 (both dates inclusive), their Visa and ARC expiry date has been automatically extended to 30 April 2020. Therefore, foreigners whose current ARC expiration date is between the dates above don’t need to visit their district immigration offices to apply for ARC extension. Additionally, the Immigration Office does not recommend filing new visa applications in March to avoid visiting the immigration office—therefore new cases submissions may need to be delayed. (Ministry of Justice, Korea Immigration Service)

The situation is changing every day and we recommend that you contact us for daily updates. Please always double check with Santa Fe South Korea.

For further information or management escalations please contact,

Thomas Morocz
General Manager, South Korea
Thomas.Morocz@santaferelo.com