President Yoon Suk-yeol called Monday for the government to review mandatory COVID-19 PCR tests for travelers from China. Yoon’s office said there should be “no disruption to people-to-people exchanges between South Korea and China.” South Korea resumed issuing short-term visas to travelers from China on Saturday after determining that COVID-19 infections have subsided in that country.

Yoon also asked the prime minister to review the country’s immigration rules in a “forward-looking manner” to vitalize the country's tourism industry and “maximize the national interest.” In response to Seoul’s plan to resume issuing short-term visas for travelers from China, the Chinese government said it would “consider resuming the issuance of short-term visas for South Koreans to China” on par with Seoul’s decision.