Prime Minister Jeong: "Strict Punishment for Civil Servants Violating Election Laws... I Will Lead by Example"

"Infectious diseases should be responded to more than adequately... Thoroughly inspect airport and port quarantine systems during the Seollal holiday"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwangho Lee] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun stated on the 23rd, regarding the 21st National Assembly election just 80 days away, "The public service must strictly adhere to the political neutrality obligations of public officials as stipulated by the Constitution and the Public Official Election Act. I will take the lead as Prime Minister to ensure that no controversies over election neutrality arise."

On the same day, Prime Minister Chung presided over the first government policy coordination meeting since his inauguration at the Government Complex Sejong and said, "The government will do its utmost to ensure that this election is conducted more fairly and cleanly than any previous election."

He emphasized, "During this Lunar New Year holiday, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and local governments will jointly strengthen special inspection activities," adding, "We will focus on monitoring public officials who engage in election-related activities such as spreading false information through social network services (SNS), and any illegal acts will be severely punished. The prosecution and police will also intensify crackdowns on illegal activities such as bribery, public opinion manipulation, and mobilization of illegal organizations."

He further stated, "A fair election cannot be achieved by the government's efforts alone," and urged, "I ask political parties, prospective candidates, campaign workers, and voters to participate in establishing a clean election culture."

Regarding the novel coronavirus infection, Prime Minister Chung said, "Infectious diseases must be responded to excessively at the early stage to block their spread," and requested, "The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should operate the quarantine network flawlessly in cooperation with local governments."

He continued, "It is expected that many tourists will enter the country during the Lunar New Year holiday," and mentioned, "Please thoroughly re-examine the quarantine system at all airports and ports nationwide."

Additionally, he stressed, "To resolve concerns about the spread of infectious diseases early, cooperation from all members of society is essential," and added, "We have experience in preventing the spread of MERS in 2018 through the mature response of the public and the medical community. I ask for active cooperation in following personal hygiene rules, cooperating with quarantine upon entry, and reporting symptoms."

He also noted, "There is still insufficient information necessary to respond to the novel infectious disease," and said, "The Ministry of Health and Welfare should further strengthen cooperation systems such as information sharing with Chinese health authorities and the World Health Organization (WHO)."

Furthermore, he added, "To minimize negative impacts such as economic activity contraction caused by the spread of the novel coronavirus, the Ministry of Economy and Finance and other economic departments should closely monitor volatility in domestic and international financial markets and respond promptly."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.