South Korea will allow overseas group tours of fully vaccinated citizens to nations with stable virus response measures as early as in July, as the COVID-19 vaccination campaign picks up speed across the nation, the prime minister said Wednesday.

"Starting in July, we plan to allow group travel of fully vaccinated people through consultations between nations with stable antivirus conditions," Kim Boo-kyum said during a daily interagency meeting on the country's coronavirus response.

The plan comes as the rate of the nation's population who have received their first vaccine jabs reached 16.5 percent as of Wednesday.

Kim pointed to the state of severe deterioration of the air travel and tourism industries hit by the pandemic, while noting that the number of people hoping for resumption of overseas tours was growing. (Yonhap)