Lee Won-wook Proposes Amendment to Infectious Disease Prevention Act... "Immediate Arrest of Jeon Gwang-hoon Possible"

Amendment Allows 'Emergency Arrest' with Punishment Possible for Over 3 Years

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Won Dara] Lee Won-wook, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, has proposed an amendment to the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act to allow the urgent arrest of Pastor Jeon Gwang-hoon. The main point is to raise the imprisonment penalty level in the Infectious Disease Prevention Act from the existing less than one year to more than three years, enabling urgent arrest.

The amendment proposed by Rep. Lee on the 20th includes a new provision that imposes up to five years imprisonment or a fine of up to 50 million won on those who obstruct the duties of quarantine officers and epidemiological investigators by intimidation or coercion.

Those who violate quarantine measures and use facilities or transportation used by unspecified many people will be subject to imprisonment of up to three years or a fine of up to 30 million won.

Additionally, those who spread false information about the activities of quarantine authorities and infectious diseases may face imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up to 20 million won.

A representative from Rep. Lee’s office explained, "The current law has punishment provisions for passive refusal of treatment, such as infectious disease patients not receiving or refusing hospitalization treatment, so it only has relatively light criminal penalties, and there are no punishment provisions for acts that can actively cause infection to unspecified many people." They added, "Because the punishment for such acts is imprisonment of less than one year, it does not meet the requirements for urgent arrest, making it difficult for judicial authorities to actively secure custody."

Rep. Lee stated, “Under the current law, those who violate laws punishable by imprisonment of three years or more can be urgently arrested,” and “if this amendment is enacted, those who violate quarantine authority rules can be urgently arrested.”

He continued, “Pastor Jeon’s participation in the protest on the 15th, ignoring bail conditions and self-quarantine rules, is a clear illegal act,” emphasizing, “This bill must be immediately enacted to provide a legal basis for the urgent arrest of Pastor Jeon Gwang-hoon.”

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