Gwangju Police Strictly Respond to COVID-19 Quarantine Rule Violations... Total 237 Referred

Gwangju Police Agency.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] The Gwangju Police Agency (Chief Kim Gyotae) is taking strict measures against violations of quarantine rules related to COVID-19.

According to the Gwangju Police Agency on the 5th, since the end of February last year until now, 315 people have been investigated for violating the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, including quarantine violations and obstruction of epidemiological investigations, and 237 have been sent to the prosecution with a recommendation for indictment.

Among them, one person with a serious charge was detained, and 16 people are currently under investigation.

Specifically, 33 people in 29 cases were investigated for quarantine violations, with 30 people in 27 cases sent to prosecution, and 2 people in 1 case are under investigation.

For violations of gathering bans, 259 people in 45 cases were investigated, 196 people in 39 cases were sent to prosecution, and 14 people in 2 cases are under investigation.

The Gwangju Police have organized a rapid response team of 119 members under the Gwangju Agency to support epidemiological investigations by health authorities and local governments, including confirming the whereabouts of missing persons. So far, they have confirmed the locations of 1,481 missing persons and provided this information to quarantine authorities.

In particular, in July, they contributed to preventing further infections by promptly investigating the whereabouts of a COVID-19 confirmed patient who left their residence, fled to Yeonggwang, Jeonnam, and refused hospitalization.

Additionally, the Gwangju Police classify 112 reports of violations such as gathering ban orders at high-risk facilities as ‘Code 1’ or higher, equivalent to serious incidents, and respond urgently. So far, they have received a total of 2,232 related 112 reports and caught 259 violators.

Furthermore, together with health authorities and local governments, they have conducted joint inspections of 17,083 high-risk facilities to check compliance with COVID-19 quarantine rules, detecting 401 cases of non-compliance, and continuously monitored 1,439 self-quarantined individuals (cumulative) for quarantine violations.

A Gwangju Police Agency official stated, “Violations of the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act can result in up to 2 years imprisonment or fines of up to 20 million won (for obstruction of epidemiological investigations). Since such violations can nullify the efforts of the government and the public, and lead to secondary infections causing risks to the community, we will thoroughly investigate and prosecute serious cases, including considering detention warrants.”

He added, “A small lapse in judgment like ‘this should be okay’ can endanger not only oneself but also the lives of precious family members and the community, so please strictly adhere to quarantine rules.”

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