SEOUL (REUTERS) - A South Korean court has ordered that private educational facilities, including the country's notorious cram schools, be temporarily excluded from a government plan for Covid-19 vaccine pass mandates, Yonhap news agency reported on Tuesday (Jan 4).

The injunction is one of the first legal blocks to South Korea's vaccine mandates, which require passes or testing for entry to a wide range of facilities including restaurants, cafes, gyms, and bars.

The passes are required for people aged 17 and older, but there is a plan for the rule to be extended to children over the age of 12.

While the rule will not be imposed on regular schools, private tuition centres, libraries and study cafes will be subject to it.

In the face of protests, the government pushed back the start of the extended mandate from February to March, and then added a one-month grace period.

A Seoul administrative court ruled that the mandate for children at private facilities be blocked while it considers a legal challenge filed against the Ministry of Health by federations of private education and parents' groups, Yonhap reported.

The government has said it would honour the court's decision, but planned to appeal against the injunction and repeated its stance that the mandate was needed for public health, Yonhap said.

Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said in a meeting with a group of students and parents last month that the vaccine pass was not intended to force vaccination or discriminate against those who have not received a shot, but aimed at minimising risks of infection at vulnerable facilities and ensuring safety for everyone.

More than 42.6 million people, or 83.1 per cent of the 52 million population, have been fully vaccinated, including about 19 million who have received booster shots, according to health authorities.