National Health Insurance Service to Claim Compensation from 'Quarantine Violation' Groups and Individuals Including Sarang Jeil Church

On the 25th, Choi In-sik, Secretary General of the National Emergency Response Committee for the 815 Rally participants, and Lee Dong-ho, a committee member, held a press conference condemning the government in front of Sarang Jeil Church in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. They addressed President Moon Jae-in, saying, "Stop threatening the public under the pretext of quarantine." They also raised their voices, stating, "We hope the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency only speaks and acts to protect the health and lives of the people." / Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] The National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) has decided to claim compensation from those who refused epidemiological investigations or obstructed quarantine activities related to COVID-19, including the Sarang Jeil Church in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul.

On the 31st, the NHIS announced, "Regarding cases of obstruction of COVID-19 quarantine and violations of quarantine guidelines, we plan to recover undue profits or claim compensation for medical expenses borne by the NHIS."

The NHIS will first recover medical expenses it covered or claim compensation from confirmed patients who violated the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act or from related organizations and individuals who transmitted COVID-19 to others, causing them to receive medical treatment.

In the case of individuals, the NHIS will recover the medical expenses it covered as "undue profits," and if individuals or organizations infect others by violating the Infectious Disease Prevention Act, the NHIS plans to claim compensation for the medical expenses it bore.

To this end, the NHIS will form a dedicated litigation team and verify the facts, including whether related laws were violated, with the cooperation of quarantine authorities and local governments.

Meanwhile, according to the NHIS, there were 1,035 confirmed cases related to the Sarang Jeil Church in Seoul. Considering that the average medical expense for COVID-19 patients hospitalized from January to July this year was 6,325,000 KRW (NHIS burden 5,340,000 KRW), the estimated total medical expenses for 1,035 confirmed patients are approximately 6.5 billion KRW.

The NHIS explained that the medical expenses it bore amount to about 5.5 billion KRW.

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