Seongap Kim, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, Accepts Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum's Recommendations... Easing Fines and Administrative Sanctions

On the 6th of last month, Prime Minister Kim Bu-gyeom, who visited Hyemin Hospital, requested improvements to administrative penalties for COVID-19 quarantine rule violations... Reflected opinions lead to eased fines and administrative penalties for facilities violating quarantine guidelines

On January 6, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, who visited Hyemin Hospital, a dedicated COVID-19 hospital, is seen talking with Kim Seon-gap, Mayor of Gwangjin District (left).

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Kim Seon-gap, Mayor of Gwangjin District, had his proposals regarding the quarantine system, delivered to Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, actively reflected in the administration.

On the 6th of last month, Mayor Kim, as the person responsible for the quarantine system in Gwangjin District at the forefront, conveyed his proposals about the quarantine system to Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum during his visit to Hyemin Hospital, a COVID-19 dedicated base hospital.

On that day, Mayor Kim stated, "There is a high burden on managers and operators regarding fines for violating COVID-19 quarantine rules," and requested, "Please improve the detailed fines and administrative measures for business owners."

Reflecting this opinion, the 'Partial Amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Infectious Disease Prevention and Management Act,' which relaxes the fines and administrative measures that were strictly applied to facilities violating quarantine guidelines, was approved at the Cabinet meeting on the 8th.

Accordingly, from the 9th, the criteria for imposing fines were subdivided from two stages to three stages, and the fine levels were lowered to a minimum of 500,000 KRW and a maximum of 2,000,000 KRW.

Additionally, administrative measures were downgraded by one level from '10 days suspension of operation' to 'warning' for violations such as failure to prepare visitor lists or verify vaccination certificates.

Specifically, for the first violation, instead of a fine of 1,500,000 KRW and a 10-day suspension of operation, a fine of 500,000 KRW and a warning will be issued. For the second violation, instead of a fine of 3,000,000 KRW and a 20-day suspension, a fine of 1,000,000 KRW and a 10-day suspension will apply. For the third and subsequent violations, the fine is reduced from 3,000,000 KRW to 2,000,000 KRW, and administrative measures are significantly eased from a 3-month suspension to 20 days, reducing the burden on small business owners.

Kim Seon-gap, Mayor of Gwangjin District, said, "Businesses have tried to comply with quarantine rules, but violations occurred due to user negligence, and the prolonged COVID-19 situation has increased the burden on small business owners facing difficulties," adding, "I conveyed the on-site situation in detail and made proposals to Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, who visited to encourage us."

He continued, "I am grateful to Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum for listening to and reflecting the voices from the field, and I believe that if everyone puts their heads together and gathers wisdom, we can recover to normal life more quickly."

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