Supreme Prosecutors' Office Requests Maximum Sentence for Refusal of Quarantine Measures and Related Charges

Maximum sentence demanded in court for COVID-19 related offenders... "Zero tolerance policy applied"

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The Supreme Prosecutors' Office has decided to apply a zero-tolerance policy and conduct detention investigations on serious quarantine obstruction offenders who have systematically refused and maliciously interfered with the quarantine authorities' measures.

On the 25th, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office announced that it instructed frontline prosecutors' offices to strictly respond, including requesting the maximum statutory penalty for offenders related to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19).

In particular, acts such as organized, planned, or malicious refusal of epidemiological investigations, assault or threats against quarantine personnel and medical staff, and active obstruction of quarantine policies will, in principle, be subject to detention investigations. Furthermore, if the assembly ban order is violated, not only the organizers but also those who actively participated will be referred to formal trials.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 this year until the day before, the prosecution has handled 338 cases related to quarantine obstruction and detained and indicted 22 people. The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office detained and indicted four individuals, including the leader of a religious group who omitted and falsely recorded some information while submitting a list of church members this month. The Gwangju District Prosecutors' Office also detained and prosecuted a quarantine obstruction offender who left their residence without permission during the self-quarantine period and turned off their mobile phone, making contact impossible.

A Supreme Prosecutors' Office official said, "We will apply a zero-tolerance policy to illegal acts that maliciously obstruct quarantine and interfere with legitimate official duties by spreading false information."

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