Police Designate Hongdae Area as 'Special Quarantine Security Zone'... Focused Response to Foreigners Violating Quarantine Rules

Minor Offenses Including Noise Complaints Cracked Down
Illegal Immigrants Violating Quarantine Handed Over to Immigration Office
Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency "Conducting Visible Quarantine Activities"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The police are strengthening inspections of foreigners violating quarantine rules in the Hongdae area of Seoul and carrying out activities to establish basic order.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced on the 15th that it designated the foreigner-dense area around Hongdae as a "special quarantine security zone" and will actively crack down beyond the existing publicity and guidance activities promoted by the Mapo Police Station and Mapo District Office.

This measure follows the recent directive from the Seoul Autonomous Police Commission to establish special quarantine security measures related to controversies over foreigners violating quarantine rules in the Hongdae area.

The Mapo Police Station, which has jurisdiction over the Hongdae area, has been conducting special quarantine security activities from the 30th of last month until the end of this month after repeated violations of quarantine rules by foreigners during late-night hours from Thursday to Sunday, such as not wearing masks and causing disturbances due to drinking.

On the 14th and 15th, the police will increase personnel for guidance activities together with the district office to block the atmosphere of foreigners ignoring quarantine rules. On Saturdays, when the density of foreigners is highest, 240 police riot squad members, patrol cars, the criminal investigation and violent crime team, and traffic police will be mobilized for crackdown activities.

In particular, moving away from guidance-focused activities, they will crack down not only on violations of quarantine rules such as not wearing masks and gatherings of three or more people but also on violations of the Minor Offenses Act such as illegal dumping of trash, public urination, and disturbances due to drinking, as well as violations of the Immigration Control Act discovered during the crackdown process.

The Central Quarantine Countermeasures Headquarters recently announced that to encourage vaccination among illegal foreign residents, the obligation to report cases identified as illegal residents during testing and treatment will be exempted until the end of the year. However, this exemption does not apply to violations of quarantine rules. In other words, if an illegal resident is caught violating quarantine rules in the Hongdae area, they can be handed over to the immigration office.

The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency stated, "Violations of quarantine rules directly threaten the safety of the public and undermine the quarantine efforts our society has worked hard to maintain. Therefore, we will closely cooperate with related organizations such as the Mapo District Office and the volunteer crime prevention squad to carry out more visible quarantine activities."

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