Jin Joong-kwon "Even if urgent, COVID-19 case movement disclosure must not violate human rights"

Jin Joong-kwon, former professor at Dongyang University / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] Former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon criticized the disclosure of movement paths of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19 virus), stating that "information should only be disclosed within the necessary scope for quarantine."

On the 9th, Jin wrote on his Facebook, "No matter how urgent it is to catch the virus, we must not violate the values of human rights and democracy," expressing this view.

He added, "Let us not allow the virus to destroy the values we hold dear."

At the same time, Jin posted a link to an article containing the statement released that day by Choi Young-ae, Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission.

Earlier that day, Chairperson Choi issued a statement expressing concern about "cases where intimate private information is excessively exposed beyond what is necessary during the process of informing the movement paths of confirmed cases."

She continued, "Because more private information than necessary is being specifically disclosed for each confirmed individual, cases of human rights violations where the intimate private lives of confirmed patients are unintentionally exposed are occurring," and emphasized, "Furthermore, we cannot help but worry about the secondary damage spreading, such as the confirmed individuals becoming targets of criticism, ridicule, and hatred on the internet."

Chairperson Choi suggested finding alternative measures to alleviate public anxiety, such as ▲disclosing only the places visited by time without identifying individuals, and ▲disclosing only the disinfection and quarantine status by health authorities of facilities or businesses visited by confirmed cases.

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