Two days ahead of the 100th day of national vaccinations against COVID-19 in Korea, people on the morning of June 3 receive inoculations at a vaccination center in Seoul's Jungnang-gu District. (Yonhap News)

Our World in Data, a global statistical site tracking the global progress of inoculation against COVID-19, says Korea's vaccination rate has surged to exceed the world average. (Screen capture from Our World in Data)

A survey of perceptions of COVID-19 jointly conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism on May 31 found that 70% of Koreans intended to get inoculated, up 7.8 percentage points from last month.

The government is also offering select exemptions from COVID-19 restrictions for those getting vaccinated. Since June 1, people receiving their first shots have been exempt from the family gathering restriction limiting the number of guests and can visit nursing hospitals and facilities to see patients in person.

Other perks include a discount on or free admission to national parks and recreational forests, palaces and concert halls. And from next month, those immunized need not wear masks outdoors at parks and hiking trails.

Reservations for residual vaccines that began on May 27 has also raised the national vaccination rate. This program allows people who want to get inoculated to do so using leftover vaccines caused by no-shows or the use of low dead space (LDS) syringes.

Non-priority groups of people aged 30 or older can get immunized first through this program. After checking real-time information on leftover vaccines through online platforms such as Naver and Kakao, simple appointments can be made after a self-certification process.

As of midnight on June 2, 278,282 people received their shots through this manner.

Major Japanese media including NHK, TV Asahi and the Nikkei gave heavy coverage to this service, which is unavailable elsewhere in the world. "This Korean-style response rapidly utilizes information technology to solve social problems," the Nikkei said.

The Janssen vaccine from the U.S. will go to military personnel, including those in reserve forces and civil defense. On June 1, vaccine reservations for 900,000 members of reserve forces and civil defense aged 30 or older nationwide were offered on a first-come, first-served basis, and all were booked within 17 hours.

Korea runs a service through telephone and mobile apps to search for and set appointments to get leftover vaccines due to no-shows and the use of low dead space syringes. (Lee Kyoung Mi)