Yeosu City Public Officials and Workers Commuting from Suncheon and Gwangyang... "Don't Come to Work"

Measures Equivalent to Self-Quarantine Including Remote Work for Yeosu City Officials Commuting from Suncheon and Gwangyang
Yeosu Industrial Complex Workers Commuting from Suncheon and Gwangyang... Do Not Go to Suncheon or Gwangyang

[Yeosu=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Hyung-kwon] Yeosu City (Mayor Kwon Oh-bong) has effectively imposed quarantine measures by ordering employees commuting from nearby areas such as Suncheon and Gwangyang to work from home, under the pretext of maintaining Yeosu as a COVID-19 clean zone.

As this measure by Yeosu City became known, a local resident A expressed outrage, saying, "Yeosu, Suncheon, and Gwangyang are neighboring cities that should develop through mutual coexistence, but the mayor of Yeosu is treating citizens of Suncheon and Gwangyang as if they are carriers of the COVID-19 virus."

Furthermore, on the 28th of last month, Yeosu City requested the Yeosu Industrial Complex Construction Association to "take extraordinary measures so that workers from Suncheon and Gwangyang do not work on-site until the situation calms down," and asked that "workers from Suncheon and Gwangyang should reside at relatives' homes or one-room apartments in Yeosu, and avoid visiting Suncheon and Gwangyang areas."

In response, the Progressive Party Jeonnam Provincial Party issued a statement on the 1st, criticizing, "A single official letter sent by Yeosu City is causing a huge stir in the local community," and added, "The anxiety and hardships of workers are spreading faster than COVID-19."

They also argued, "Construction workers are daily laborers who cannot receive wages if they do not work for a day," and "During the national disaster period, local governments that should protect struggling workers and self-employed people are instead leading efforts to avoid employing construction workers."

Despite such criticism, Mayor Kwon Oh-bong ordered 106 Yeosu city officials commuting from Suncheon and Gwangyang to take forced leave and work from home for four days starting from the 1st. He mandated measures equivalent to self-quarantine, urging them to refrain from going out and minimize interpersonal contact at home.

Additionally, Yeosu City heavily promoted this measure, stating that "this is a preemptive response to maintain Yeosu as a COVID-19 clean area amid concerns of transmission to Yeosu from 'n-th generation infections' that began mainly in large mart food courts and fitness centers in Suncheon and Gwangyang, which share the same living area."

A resident B living in Gwangyang expressed anger, saying, "Yeosu City used the term 'same living area,' yet treated public officials and workers commuting from neighboring Suncheon and Gwangyang as virus spreaders. Mayor Kwon Oh-bong of Yeosu should offer a sincere apology for this."

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