Gwangju City Strictly Responds to Quarantine Rule Violations by Self-Isolators

Since February Last Year, 36 Cases of Unauthorized Quarantine Violations Detected... 34 People Prosecuted

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City announced on the 7th that it will strengthen the management system to prevent the unauthorized departure of COVID-19 self-quarantined individuals and respond strictly to unauthorized departures, as confirmed cases continue to occur during pre-release tests of self-quarantined individuals.

Currently, there are 1,785 self-quarantined individuals in Gwangju (314 of whom are overseas arrivals), monitored daily by 1,861 dedicated public officials (including reserves). Since the first confirmed case in Gwangju on February 3 last year, a total of 34,258 people have undergone self-quarantine.

Gwangju maintains a roughly 1:1 ratio between self-quarantined individuals and dedicated public officials, requiring all self-quarantined persons to mandatorily install the self-quarantine safety protection app. Self-quarantined individuals submit self-diagnosis reports twice daily via the app, while dedicated officials continuously monitor for any departures through the situation management system.

Additionally, unannounced phone calls are conducted once daily as a mandatory measure, and joint surprise visits and inspections by city, district, and related agencies are carried out frequently, with a total of 474 inspections completed to date.

As a result, from February last year until now, 36 cases of unauthorized departure from self-quarantine have been detected. Of these, 9 were identified through visits and monitoring phone calls by dedicated officials, 10 through surprise inspections, 8 through app-detected departures, 8 through citizen reports, and 1 through other means.

Among them, 34 individuals were reported for violating the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act. Sentences have been finalized for 5 people, including imprisonment and fines, while prosecutions and trials are ongoing for the remaining 29.

Among the finalized cases, a man in his 50s, Mr. A, who was caught leaving the quarantine area to nearby regions due to feeling confined, was fined 1.5 million KRW after the app detected his departure. A man in his 20s, Mr. B, who took a taxi and KTX train to Osong Station to meet an acquaintance, was fined 2 million KRW.

Also, a man in his 20s, Mr. C, who went out during quarantine to visit a friend, stopping by a restaurant and a PC bang, was caught through a dedicated official’s phone call and sentenced to 4 months imprisonment with a 2-year probation.

Unauthorized departure from self-quarantine can result in imprisonment of up to one year or a fine of up to 10 million KRW under the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act. If additional confirmed cases occur, criminal charges may be filed, and claims for damages related to quarantine costs and business losses may be pursued, so caution is necessary.

In addition, Gwangju continues to provide relief supplies such as medical kits containing thermometers, masks, hand sanitizers, official envelopes, as well as food and daily necessities to alleviate inconveniences caused by self-quarantine.

Those who have received self-quarantine notifications from health centers but have not received paid leave support under the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act can apply to the local administrative office of their registered residence after the quarantine period ends. Based on the number of household members registered, a one-time living support payment (474,600 KRW per person) is provided for one month.

However, living expenses are not provided to those who violate quarantine rules.

Kim Il-yong, Director of the City’s Autonomous Administration Bureau, stated, “As the COVID-19 situation nationwide is at a critical turning point, we will thoroughly monitor self-quarantined individuals to block additional infections caused by unauthorized departures and will apply a zero-tolerance policy to strictly deal with any unauthorized departures.”

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