On March 13, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs invited the diplomatic corps in Seoul to watch quarantine procedures before departure and upon arrival at the Incheon International Airport Terminal 1.
The Foreign Ministry held the event in cooperation with the Incheon Airport National Quarantine Station of the Korea Centers for Disease Control & Prevention of the Ministry of Health and Welfare as well as the Incheon International Airport Corporation. The diplomatic corps from about 40 countries participated in the event. The event took place once in the morning (11:00-12:00) and another in the afternoon (16:00-17:00), and 15 ambassadors in Seoul took part in the event.
The event was designed to help the diplomatic corps in Seoul experience the South Korea’s quarantine system to combat COVID-19 firsthand, which was explained at the 2nd briefing session on the government’s response to COVID-19, organized by the Foreign Ministry on March 6 for the diplomatic corps by Minister Kang Kyung-wha.
The diplomatic corps and Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Gunn Kim were briefed on quarantine procedures before departure by CEO of the Incheon International Airport Corporation. They then moved on to the arrival hall inside the airport and were briefed again on Special Entry Procedures by the Head of the Incheon Airport National Quarantine Station and watched the process for fever checks at the departure hall inside the airport. Lastly, they went back to the arrival hall to see how Health Questionnaires are collected and how Special Entry Procedures are carried out.
The diplomatic corps showed significant interest in the South Korea’s preemptive quarantine procedures before departure and efficient quarantine system upon arrival using advanced information technologies. In particular, they asked various questions on how to check for fever before departure as well as ways to prevent the inflow of infectious diseases through Health Questionnaires and the Self-Diagnosis App.

The event is expected to contribute to facilitating exchanges between the participating countries and South Korea by deepening the diplomatic corps’ understanding and confidence in the South Korean government’s quarantine procedures.

Instructions for Quarantine Subjects for Foreigners
1. You should go into quarantine for 14 days following entry to prevent infection with COVID 19 in accordance with the Quarantine Act and the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act.
2. Foreign nationals for short-term stay should go into isolation at a facility designated by the Korean government at their own expense and foreigners who are long-term should go into self-quarantine in their homes. Note that those exempted from quarantine among short-term foreigners should undergo the diagnostic tests and be under active surveillance in which designated public officials check on their health conditions for 14 days.

*Exempted from isolation: Entrants acquiring pre-approved waiver through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
* Those holding A1 (Diplomat), A2 (Government official), or A3 (Agreement) visa or acquiring ‘self-quarantine exemption document’ in advance of entry issued by the Korean Embassy

3. You must wear a facemask all the time and minimize contact or conversation with others right after arriving at airport.
4. The diagnostic tests will be conducted on symptomatic arrivals identified at the quarantine stage and foreigners arriving from Europe, including even asymptomatic ones. The following measures will be taken according to the test results.
5. Asymptomatic entrants from all parts of the world except for Europe should undergo the diagnostic tests when any symptom appears while being quarantined in homes or facilities.
6. When heading to home from airport, using your private car is recommended. If it is not available, you should use specially designated airport limousine bus or KTX (designated cars). You should directly go home and dropping by other places is not allowed. Right after arriving home, quarantine subjects should dial to local health centers and inform them you are under quarantine. 
7. Those under facility isolation should move to the designated quarantine facilities by specially designated cars.
8. Self-quarantine subjects are mandated to install the ‘self-quarantine safety protection app’ developed by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and follow self-diagnosis and self-quarantine rules for 14 days.