The government has extended for two weeks social distancing measures limiting the number of people at a private gathering to four and imposing a 9 p.m. curfew for restaurants and cafes.
The move seeks to reorganize the medical response system and counter the threat of the omicron variant of COVID-19.
Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum on Dec. 31 told a meeting of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters that he chaired at Government Complex-Seoul, "We need time to prepare before the omicron variant, which is alarmingly contagious, can spread nationwide."
"We will extend ongoing social distancing measures for two weeks."
Department stores, hypermarkets and large marts, which had been exempt from the vaccine pass rule, were added to the list of places requiring visitors to show such passes.
The new measure will be applied for two weeks from Jan. 3-16.
Vaccine passes for youth will be required from March 1, when the spring school semester stars, with a trial period of one month.
Under a "pay first, settle later" format, the government will also compensate small business owners and the self-employed for having to forfeit the year-end peak season due to stronger quarantine measures.
The prime minister said, "This past year was extremely harsh but also a good time to confirm the people's solidarity," thanking the public for participating in social distancing.
