Prime Minister Jeong Urges "Fines for Not Wearing Masks... Encouraging Public Habit"

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

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun announced on the 8th that "starting from the 13th, fines will be imposed for violations of the mask-wearing mandate."

At the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCH) meeting on COVID-19 held at the Government Seoul Office on the same day, Prime Minister Chung said, "In a situation where we inevitably have to coexist with COVID-19 for some time, wearing a mask is currently the best vaccine."

He emphasized, "New social distancing measures began yesterday," adding, "As the saying goes, 'You have to fasten the first button well,' the early phase of implementation is very important for the new system to settle."

He urged, "Especially this time, since basic quarantine rules such as mask-wearing are mandatory from social distancing level 1, I ask the public to actively practice them in all aspects of daily life."

Prime Minister Chung reminded that the goal of the social distancing revision is "sustainable quarantine." He added, "Rather than uniform regulations, we need to enhance the precision and effectiveness of quarantine through appropriate response measures where necessary."

Regarding the recent decision by Cheonan and Asan cities in Chungnam Province to independently raise social distancing to level 1.5, Prime Minister Chung evaluated it as "a timely measure to block the early spread of COVID-19 within the region."

He also urged, "Other local governments should actively implement measures suitable to their situations while communicating with quarantine authorities."

Prime Minister Chung pointed out that employees at a call center in Cheonan, where a cluster infection of over 30 people recently occurred, were working without wearing masks. This highlights the need to properly follow basic quarantine rules.

He said, "Even if it is not noticeable, sustainable quarantine will only be possible when we ourselves follow the quarantine rules," adding, "This is a time when the mindset of 'starting with myself' is needed rather than thinking 'just me'."

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