40s Violating Self-Quarantine Fined 3 Million Won Again in Appeal Trial

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] A man in his 40s who left his residence during self-quarantine to go to work was fined again in the appellate court.

According to the legal community on the 18th, the Gwangju District Court Criminal Division 3 (Presiding Judge Kim Tae-ho) dismissed the appeal of Mr. A (47), who was indicted for violating the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act, and upheld the original sentence of a 3 million won fine.

Mr. A was notified by health authorities to self-quarantine from July 3 to July 12 after having close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 patient at a store in Damyang-gun, Jeollanam-do on June 28 of last year.

However, on July 6, from 12:00 PM to 6:30 PM, he went to his workplace located in Buk-gu, Gwangju.

The first trial court stated, "Considering the high transmissibility of the COVID-19 infectious disease and the risk of violating self-quarantine measures, the defendant's culpability is by no means light."

However, it explained the sentencing reasons by saying, "He showed an attitude of remorse, the time he was absent was not long, and he tested negative in the coronavirus test, so the risk of further transmission did not materialize."

Mr. A appealed, claiming that the original sentence was too harsh.

The second trial court stated, "Considering the speed and risk of COVID-19 transmission, following quarantine rules is the only and absolute countermeasure against infectious diseases," and added, "There is a need to strictly punish those who violate self-quarantine measures without special reasons."

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