[7][8] On 4 February 2020, in order to help prevent spread of the disease, South Korea began denying entry to foreigners traveling from Hubei Province in China.

[14][15] The rapid and extensive testing undertaken by South Korea has been judged successful in limiting the spread of the outbreak, without using the drastic measure of locking down entire cities.

[14][16][17] Despite these successful measures, however, a significant rise in the number of new infections has occurred beginning in August 2020, with clusters being linked to Protestant churches in the Seoul Metropolitan Area.

[30] During the first four weeks, South Korea controlled the potential spread of COVID-19 by using high-tech resources like tracking the use of credit cards and checking CCTV footage of confirmed patients.

The patient continued to go to gatherings of Shincheonji days after showing symptoms, which are typically held with people in very close proximity and include physical contact of the members.

[67] With an additional 4,000 cases of COVID-19 within two weeks, and roughly 60% of the total infections nationwide having stemmed from the church, the Seoul city government asked prosecutors to press charges against the religious group's founder and senior members for murder, causing harm, and for violating the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act.

"[79] USCIRF reported that South Korean "Vice Minister of Health Kim Kang-lip has publicly stated that the Shincheonji church has cooperated with authorities.

"[79] The Belgian NGO Human Rights Without Frontiers and CESNUR released a "White Paper" claiming that, although it did make "mistakes" in its management of the crisis, Shincheonji had also been discriminated because of its status as an unpopular group in South Korea.

[85] As infection rates have risen outside Korea leading to increases of sick arriving in the country (476 of 9,661 cases were imported as of 30 March), the KCDC will be implementing stronger infectious disease control measures for travelers coming from overseas as of 1 April.

Under the revised anti-infectious disease law, violators can face up to a year in prison, a 10 million won fine, or in the case of foreign passport holders—deportation.

[90][91][92][93] A Canadian cast member with the touring The Phantom of the Opera stage play entered Korea on 12 March, participated for roughly two weeks, and tested positive 2 April.

After seeing Korea successfully lower cases of infection, President Moon Jae-in has engaged in "coronavirus diplomacy" with leaders of other nations, part of which involved exporting test kits to more than 20 countries.

[110] Authorities ordered 12 high-risk business categories including nightclubs, karaoke bars and buffet restaurants, but also museums, to cease operations in Seoul, Incheon and the neighbouring Gyeonggi province.

The new rules allowed franchise cafes and bakeries to have customers drink and eat inside, dining at restaurants after 9 p.m., and indoors gyms and after-school academics to reopen.

South Korea has been struggling with a sudden spike in infections linked to hospitals, nursing homes, churches, prisons, and family gatherings during the holidays.

The approval came with a warning, however, that consideration is needed when administering the vaccine to individuals over 65 years of age due to limited data from that demographic in clinical trials.

[122] On 24 January 2022, as the Omicron variant spreads, South Korea's daily new coronavirus infections reached 8,571, exceeding the previous high and fueling worries of another wave when tens of millions travel across the country for the upcoming Lunar New Year.

[125] The South Korean government has also been sending daily emergency notifications detailing information on locations with reported infections, and other status updates related to the pandemic.

Patients with moderate symptoms were sent to "repurposed corporate training facilities and spaces provided by public institutions," where they received observation and medical support.

Close contacts and infected individuals with minimal symptoms who could measure their own temperatures and whose family members were free of any chronic disease were required to self-quarantine for two weeks.

[138] On 15 March, the KOSPI closed at 1,771.44 and the Kosdaq finished at 524 points, down 7%, prompting the Financial Supervisory Commission to impose a six-month ban on short-selling, the first such action in nearly nine years.

[149][150][151] Due to record numbers of cases in December 2021, tighter restrictions were reinstated, prompting small business owners with shaven heads to protest against the government curbs and demand compensation for their losses.

[154] On 26 January, the Korea Medical Association (KMA) asked the government to temporarily bar entry to all travelers arriving from mainland China, but this recommendation was not followed.

[155] On 27 January, KMA President Choi Dae-zip said: "The third confirmed case indicates that we have reached the point where we have to get rid of passive stance and actively prepare for the worsening of the situation, (and) the government should thoroughly monitor the trend of China's national outbreak of the virus and prepare administrative measures such as complete entry ban from China in case of the worst situation.

Anger at the vaccine plan has greatly undermined support for President Moon, whose disapproval rating reached an all-time high of 60% as of late December.

[179] Jeong Gol Lee, general director of an LGBTQ rights group in South Korea, said there had been many malicious reports about gay men[180] since the Itaewon cluster emerged.

On 24 February, the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) upgraded the status of South Korea to level 3 (avoid non-essential travels due to widespread community transmission).

The newspaper stated that "While China locked down cities, Seoul embraced widespread testing and public notice of movements of those infected, raising some privacy concerns".

[189] Additionally, according to the paper, Masahiro Kami, a chairperson of the Tokyo-based Medical Governance Research Institute stated that South Korea is a good model for every country for handling the coronavirus outbreak.

[31] Fortune explained South Korea's efforts of setting up several "drive-through" coronavirus screening facilities as contributing to testing thousands of samples a day.