Jeonnam Province Eases 'Social Distancing' to Level 1

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Jeonnam Province (Governor Kim Young-rok) announced on the 12th that it will ease social distancing guidelines to Level 1.

The government announced the day before a plan to ease social distancing levels in non-metropolitan areas from Level 2 to Level 1, comprehensively considering the decreasing trend of COVID-19 cases, the worsening livelihood economy, and increasing public fatigue.

Accordingly, the province decided to apply the government's social distancing adjustment plan from midnight on the same day, as a small number of confirmed cases have been intermittently occurring in the region recently and are being stably managed within the quarantine system.

The ban on gatherings, meetings, and events of more than 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors will be lifted; however, five types of large-scale events where 100 or more people temporarily gather?such as exhibitions, fairs, festivals, large concerts, and academic events?will have attendance limited to one person per 4㎡ of facility area.

The ban on gatherings at 10 types of high-risk facilities, including entertainment bars, karaoke rooms, and indoor group exercise (intense GX types), will also be lifted.

However, direct sales promotion centers such as door-to-door sales will remain banned from gathering and thus prohibited from operating according to government policy.

High-risk facilities where the gathering ban has been lifted are required to strictly comply with core quarantine rules suited to each facility’s characteristics, such as wearing masks, using electronic entry logs, and disinfecting and ventilating.

Indoor and outdoor national and public facilities will operate with usage limited to half of normal capacity, and social welfare facilities such as welfare centers, senior citizen centers, facilities for the disabled, child care centers, and daycare centers will resume operations.

Facilities resuming operations must establish quarantine plans tailored to each facility to minimize user congestion.

The government aims to strengthen the effectiveness of penalties for violations of quarantine rules, such as fines and claims for damages, to enhance responsibility in anticipation of reduced vigilance on the ground following the easing of social distancing.

If quarantine rules are violated at facilities where they are mandatory, fines will be imposed on operators and users of violating facilities according to the revised Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, which will be enforced from the 13th of next month after a guidance period.

Facility operators will be subject to fines of up to 3 million KRW, with 1.5 million KRW for the first violation and 3 million KRW for subsequent violations. Users will be fined 100,000 KRW even for the first violation.

Additionally, the mandatory mask-wearing rule at high-risk multi-use facilities, buses, subways, and assemblies will be enforced from the 13th of next month after the guidance period ends, with a fine of 100,000 KRW for violations.

The Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act has been amended to allow local government heads to order suspension of operations for up to three months for facilities with serious quarantine violations, effective from December 30.

To activate claims for damages against individuals or groups who cause infection spread by violating quarantine rules, a consultative body between central ministries and local governments will be formed to specify standards and promotion plans for claims.

Jeonnam Governor Kim Young-rok said, “Although social distancing has been eased to Level 1, the number of confirmed domestic cases remains in double digits, and concerns about re-spread persist. I ask the residents to maintain vigilance with the mindset and attitude corresponding to Level 2, become the main agents of quarantine, and strictly comply with quarantine rules.”

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