A Seoul court handed down a ruling on Friday afternoon, partially suspending the government's COVID-19 pass system.

The ruling by the Seoul Administrative Court immediately suspended the validity of pass requirements at shops, marts, and department stores as large as three-thousand square meters or more in the city.

The pass system has also been suspended for children aged 12 to 17, enabling them to use all 17 facilities subject to the system without presenting a pass. Individuals aged 18 and older will still be required to comply with the pass system.

PC rooms, restaurants, cafes, movie theaters, and sports stadiums are not included in the suspension of the pass system. The suspension will also be limited to facilities in the capital city as the court made the verdict in response to an injunction filed against Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon. It will remain effective for 30 days.

Over one-thousand people, including doctors, had filed the injunction earlier, arguing that the effectiveness of the COVID-19 pass was unclear and incoherent. They said it also makes it practically impossible for those who have not received vaccinations to lead their daily lives.

The government had countered that the system was an effective means to lower deaths and that daily new infections had declined since its introduction.