Former Lawmaker Min Kyung-wook, Who Left COVID-19 Quarantine Site, Receives Fine and Probation... Some Charges Acquitted

Former Future United Party (predecessor of the People Power Party) lawmaker Min Kyung-wook, who was indicted for violating quarantine guidelines and leaving his isolation location without permission during the COVID-19 pandemic, was found partially guilty.

On the 18th, Judge Hyun Sun-hye of the Incheon District Court Criminal Division 10 sentenced Min, who was charged with violating the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act, to a fine of 700,000 KRW with a one-year suspended sentence. Earlier, in the sentencing hearing in June, the prosecution had requested a fine of 7 million KRW for Min.

Min was indicted without detention on charges of leaving his home without permission while under self-quarantine after returning from a trip to the United States in March 2021, just before the end of his quarantine period.

He was also charged with leaving his residence without permission despite visiting a location where COVID-19 cases were confirmed during the Liberation Day rally held around Gwanghwamun, Seoul, in August 2020.

Former Assemblyman Min Kyung-wook [Photo by Asia Economy]

Judge Hyun stated, "Although the defendant left the self-quarantine location to attend a criminal trial, he could have requested a change of date. However, considering that the defendant was not actually confirmed positive at the time and thus it is difficult to see a risk of infectious disease spread, as well as the fact that he has no prior criminal record," explaining the reasoning behind the sentencing.

However, the court acquitted Min of the charge related to visiting a COVID-19 confirmed case location in 2020 and then leaving the quarantine site without permission, reasoning that it could not be proven that he had contact with a suspected infectious disease patient simply because he entered an area where an infectious disease outbreak occurred.

Meanwhile, the court dismissed Min’s request for a constitutional review of the Infectious Disease Prevention Act, which he claimed violated constitutional fundamental rights, stating that "it is difficult to see any part of the law as unconstitutional."

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