Gwangju City Issues Administrative Order for COVID-19 Testing of Over 1,700 Foreign Workers

Workplaces Employing Five or More Foreigners Including Illegal Immigrants Must Undergo Inspection by the 20th

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Gwangju Metropolitan City issued an administrative order on the 11th requiring employers with five or more foreign workers and the workers themselves to undergo COVID-19 diagnostic testing in order to proactively block mass infections among foreign workers.

Under this administrative order, approximately 1,700 foreign workers (including undocumented foreigners) working at 218 workplaces in the jurisdiction, as well as Korean nationals living in dormitories within these workplaces, must undergo COVID-19 diagnostic testing by the 20th.

Undocumented foreigners who undergo testing during the administrative order period will not face any disadvantages related to their undocumented status.

The diagnostic tests can be taken at nearby locations such as city or five autonomous district screening clinics, and the tests are free of charge.

To facilitate testing for foreign workers in industrial complexes, the city plans to set up temporary screening clinics at Hanam Industrial Complex and Pyeongdong Industrial Complex, and extend testing hours until 8 p.m.

The city also plans to minimize the testing burden on employers and foreign workers by promptly providing test results by the morning before work the day after testing.

Violations of the administrative order may result in prosecution under the “Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act,” and if the violation leads to the spread of infectious disease, claims for quarantine costs such as testing, measures, and treatment may be pursued.

A Gwangju city official stated, “Due to recent large-scale mass infections at foreign worker workplaces in the Seoul metropolitan area and Chungnam region, there is concern about spread to the local community. We ask for the active cooperation of employers to ensure that foreign workers undergo diagnostic testing by the 20th.”

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