Prime Minister Jeong Leads Mask-Wearing Campaign at Hongdae... "Youth Participation, Leading by Example"

Amendment to the Infectious Disease Prevention Act... Prime Minister Jeong Urges "Youth Participation and Leading by Example"

Prime Minister Jeong Sye-gyun. / Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun held a "Mask Wearing Practice" street campaign on the 7th at the Hongdae festival street in Seoul, together with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and Mapo District Office.

The event was held to promote that wearing a mask is the easiest and most reliable preventive vaccine. Participants included Prime Minister Chung, Park Neung-hoo, First Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH), Yang Jin-young, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and Yoo Dong-gyun, Mayor of Mapo District.

With the revision of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act last August, starting from the 13th, wearing masks will be mandatory in multi-use facilities where there is a risk of infectious disease transmission.

The Prime Minister's Office explained, "As winter approaches, with falling temperatures and increased indoor activities, the risk of infection in daily life is expected to rise further," adding, "The event was held to promote that strictly following daily quarantine rules such as wearing masks is more important than anything else at this time."

At Hongdae, Prime Minister Chung guided young people on the correct way to wear masks and the standards for imposing fines. He conveyed a positive message to wisely overcome COVID-19 with a smile.

Before the street event including mask distribution, he encouraged the efforts of COVID-19 quarantine personnel. Along with Koo Yoon-cheol, Director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, he visited the event site and emphasized the importance of wearing masks.

Prime Minister Chung said, "Recently, there have been cluster infections due to not wearing masks, such as at the Cheonan call center, while there have also been cases where infection did not occur simply by wearing masks even in confined spaces like vehicles," adding, "I hope we can overcome COVID-19 with the power of a single mask."

He continued, "Since wearing masks is the most reliable quarantine measure against COVID-19, I came to participate in this event first."

Na Sung-woong, Deputy Director of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, who organized the event, said, "I thank all citizens for strictly following quarantine rules such as wearing masks so far," emphasizing, "The mask mandate is not a punishment but is implemented with the purpose of everyone following quarantine guidelines well to block the spread of COVID-19 and protect public health."

Deputy Director Na urged, "I hope the young people who will lead our future continue to take the lead as they have so far, becoming a driving force for masks to become an essential item in daily quarantine."

Guidelines for Imposing Fines under the Administrative Order for Wearing Masks. (Source: Office of the Prime Minister)

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