Human Rights Commission: "For Sustainable Quarantine... Infectious Disease Prevention Act Amendment Must Be Pursued"

As health authorities forecast that daily confirmed cases could reach up to 200,000 during the full-scale winter resurgence, citizens are undergoing PCR tests at the COVID-19 screening clinic in Yongsan-gu, Seoul on the 7th. The Central Disease Control Headquarters reported that as of midnight that day, confirmed cases increased by 18,671, bringing the cumulative total to 25,856,910. The Monday announcement marks the fourth consecutive week of rising trends. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK) has expressed the opinion that amendments to the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act (Infectious Disease Prevention Act) should be pursued for sustainable quarantine measures in the future.

On the 7th, the NHRCK announced that it recommended the amendment of the Infectious Disease Prevention Act to Minister Cho Kyu-hong of the Ministry of Health and Welfare and Commissioner Baek Kyung-ran of the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on the 1st.

The NHRCK explained that through handling various petitions and human rights issues related to infectious diseases received after COVID-19, it recognized the significant role of the Infectious Disease Prevention Act in guaranteeing the fundamental rights of the people. It stated that to achieve sustainable quarantine, it is necessary to amend the Infectious Disease Prevention Act so that the protection of citizens' fundamental rights and the achievement of quarantine objectives can coexist.

The NHRCK identified the provisions requiring amendment as those related to epidemiological investigations during the COVID-19 outbreak, movement tracking and disclosure, various quarantine measures such as social distancing, and the basis for criminal penalties. The NHRCK said, "While we agree on the necessity of quarantine measures in critical crisis situations like COVID-19," it added, "these provisions restrict important individual fundamental rights and violate constitutional principles such as due process, the principle of legal reservation, and the principle of proportionality, as well as international human rights standards related to the restriction of fundamental rights in disaster situations."

Furthermore, the NHRCK pointed out the need to add new regulations or amend existing provisions to address issues such as cohort isolation and preventive cohort isolation, compensation for vaccine side effects, and human rights issues of vulnerable groups during infectious disease outbreaks.

The NHRCK explained, "The Infectious Disease Prevention Act is likely to function as an important social standard in future infectious disease outbreaks," and emphasized, "It is necessary to structure it in a way that balances quarantine objectives and the protection of citizens' fundamental rights during crisis situations."

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