[Q&A] "Songpa Self-Quarantined Voter Casts 'One Vote' at Regular Polling Station... All Observers Test Negative"

On the 15th, the day of the 21st National Assembly election, a citizen wearing plastic gloves is casting a precious vote at a polling station set up at the Gwangjin-gu Civil Defense Education Center in Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporters Choi Dae-yeol and Cho Hyun-ui] Six cases of unauthorized departure were detected on the 15th, where individuals under self-quarantine due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) went out to vote. The government has filed charges in three of these cases.

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters on the 16th, 11,151 people participated in voting in the previous day's election. To guarantee voting rights, the government temporarily allowed self-quarantined individuals to go out from 5:20 PM to 7:00 PM. Through smartphone applications and management by responsible officials, measures were taken to prevent them from leaving the quarantine location for places other than the polling stations, but some were found to have violated these rules.

Park Jong-hyun, Public Relations Manager of the Pan-Government Countermeasure Support Headquarters, stated, "Among the unauthorized departures, there were cases of using billiard halls or PC rooms, visiting discount marts or friends' houses, and leaving to replace mobile phones. Three of these cases will be immediately reported."

Among the remaining three cases, one is still under review to determine if it constitutes grounds for prosecution. Two cases involved individuals leaving slightly earlier than the designated time (5:20 PM) to move to the polling station, and the other involved a self-quarantined couple where one person decided not to vote but traveled together by car. The government confirmed that the person who did not express an intention to vote did not get out of the car and remained inside.

Park said, "Unauthorized departure can be a serious crime that endangers neighbors, local communities, and even the entire nation. To raise awareness, emergency disaster relief funds will not be provided to those who leave without permission."

◇Below is a Q&A regarding violations of self-quarantine guidelines

- How many people have violated self-quarantine guidelines so far?

▲ As of 6 PM the previous day, there have been a total of 212 unauthorized departure cases involving 231 people. Among all unauthorized departure cases, 130 cases involving 140 people are undergoing judicial procedures. Of these, 15 cases involving 16 people have been referred to the prosecution with a recommendation for indictment.

- Why are not only the violators but also their households excluded from receiving emergency disaster relief funds?

▲ Many of the reasons given for unauthorized departure include "I felt suffocated and came out," or "I went out briefly to buy cigarettes." However, unauthorized departure is a serious crime that can endanger neighbors, local communities, and the entire nation. The decision not to provide emergency disaster relief funds to violators is intended to raise awareness of this seriousness.

- A self-quarantined individual voted at a general polling station in Songpa-gu the previous day. How are contact tracing and quarantine measures being handled?

▲ Tests were conducted on all self-quarantined individuals who voted, including observers, all election workers, and general voters who mixed with them. Fortunately, all tested negative.

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