Ministry of Justice Forms 'Consultative Body' to Respond to Illegal Gatherings and Exercise COVID-19 Reimbursement Claims

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The Ministry of Justice has decided to take on the role of a control tower in lawsuits such as claims for damages by forming a 'Recourse Rights Exercise Consultative Body' with local governments.

On the 29th, the Ministry of Justice announced that it will form a consultative body centered on local governments and the National Health Insurance Service to ensure unified and efficient litigation regarding illegal assemblies and the like.

Since the spread of COVID-19, local governments and others have been proceeding with civil procedures such as recourse claims or claims for damages against individuals who, through intentional or gross negligence, violate the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act and spread infectious diseases, causing economic damages such as treatment costs for confirmed patients.

However, in cases like the August 15 assembly where multiple local governments suffer damages or institutions share costs, there is a need to respond jointly to lawsuits, so the Ministry of Justice has planned to organize a consultative body centered on itself.

Currently, institutions that have expressed their intention to participate in the consultative body include Seoul Metropolitan City, Busan Metropolitan City, Gangwon Province, Gyeongsangnam-do, and the National Health Insurance Service. The Ministry of Justice plans to add local governments or institutions wishing to participate as members. Additionally, it plans to collect and share cases and evidence identified by each local government and establish consistent filing standards for case types where illegality is recognized.

A Ministry of Justice official said, "If COVID-19 infections spread further due to illegal assemblies, we plan to thoroughly exercise recourse rights through the consultative body," adding, "We expect this to effectively prevent further spread of COVID-19 infections."

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