Nightclubs, bars and singing rooms in S. Korea required to use QR codes to log visitors
Arirang News
2020-06-10
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오늘부터 고위험시설 ‘QR 코드' 스캔 의무화...노인이나 외국인에 특히 쉽지 않아
South Korea began requiring nightclubs, singing rooms and gyms to register their customers with smartphone QR codes starting today so they could be easily located when needed.
The nationwide requirement of QR codes at these "high-risk" venues come after a weeklong trial run in the cities of Seoul, Incheon and Daejeon.
As our Lee Kyung-eun reports, the government is also encouraging churches, libraries, hospitals and movie theaters to voluntarily adopt the technology.
Nightclubs. Singing rooms. Pubs. Indoor table tennis rooms.
These places have been at the center of recent COVID-19 cluster infections in South Korea.
From Wednesday, the health ministry will be keeping track of visitors to these venues using QR codes or "quick response codes."
First, you have to sign up on the Naver app.
There, you click "QR code check in", where you need to verify your phone number.
An instant QR code pops up which will last for 15 seconds.
In that square matrix barcode, your name, phone number, and the time you enter the place are automatically recorded.
The venue will then scan the code and send the data for internet storage.
Due to privacy concerns, the information will be divided between the QR code provider and a public institution, and will only be recombined for contact tracing during outbreaks.
All data will be deleted after four weeks.
"I had to download the app for the first time,... but the system is managed safely by the government so it's trustworthy."
"Visitors can still write down their information on paper if they want.
The government has kept this option for senior citizens who are not used to using smartphone apps and for those foreigners who do not have Korean phone numbers."
During the previous one-week test run, the health ministry had announced that this digital entry log would be mandatory for places with a high risk of infection, including bars, nightclubs, singing rooms, and indoor fitness centers.
But on the first day of its official implementation, private academies have been added to the list.
Other venues like churches and movie theaters are also advised to use the platform.
There will be a grace period until the end of the month, after which any business that does not comply with the policy could be fined roughly 25-hundred U.S. dollars.
Lee Kyung-eun, Arirang News.
South Korea began requiring nightclubs, singing rooms and gyms to register their customers with smartphone QR codes starting today so they could be easily located when needed.
The nationwide requirement of QR codes at these "high-risk" venues come after a weeklong trial run in the cities of Seoul, Incheon and Daejeon.
As our Lee Kyung-eun reports, the government is also encouraging churches, libraries, hospitals and movie theaters to voluntarily adopt the technology.
Nightclubs. Singing rooms. Pubs. Indoor table tennis rooms.
These places have been at the center of recent COVID-19 cluster infections in South Korea.
From Wednesday, the health ministry will be keeping track of visitors to these venues using QR codes or "quick response codes."
First, you have to sign up on the Naver app.
There, you click "QR code check in", where you need to verify your phone number.
An instant QR code pops up which will last for 15 seconds.
In that square matrix barcode, your name, phone number, and the time you enter the place are automatically recorded.
The venue will then scan the code and send the data for internet storage.
Due to privacy concerns, the information will be divided between the QR code provider and a public institution, and will only be recombined for contact tracing during outbreaks.
All data will be deleted after four weeks.
"I had to download the app for the first time,... but the system is managed safely by the government so it's trustworthy."
"Visitors can still write down their information on paper if they want.
The government has kept this option for senior citizens who are not used to using smartphone apps and for those foreigners who do not have Korean phone numbers."
During the previous one-week test run, the health ministry had announced that this digital entry log would be mandatory for places with a high risk of infection, including bars, nightclubs, singing rooms, and indoor fitness centers.
But on the first day of its official implementation, private academies have been added to the list.
Other venues like churches and movie theaters are also advised to use the platform.
There will be a grace period until the end of the month, after which any business that does not comply with the policy could be fined roughly 25-hundred U.S. dollars.
Lee Kyung-eun, Arirang News.
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