'COVID-19 Cluster Infection' Namchangwon Nonghyup Wins Appeal to Cancel Business Suspension

Namchangwon Nonghyup, which was ordered to suspend operations for 10 days by Changwon City in 2021 for responsibility in a COVID-19 cluster infection, won the appeal trial.

According to the legal community on the 14th, the Administrative Division 1 of the Changwon Branch of the Busan High Court ruled in favor of Namchangwon Nonghyup in the second trial of the administrative lawsuit to cancel the 10-day suspension order filed by Namchangwon Nonghyup on the 12th.

The appellate court ruled that Changwon City's 10-day suspension order was an abuse and deviation of discretion by Changwon City, canceled the order, and ordered Changwon City to bear the litigation costs.

Gyeongnam Namchangwon Nonghyup Agricultural and Marine Products Distribution Center.

Earlier, in August 2021, despite the social distancing order issued due to the large-scale spread of COVID-19, Changwon City imposed a fine of 22.5 million KRW and a 10-day suspension order on Namchangwon Nonghyup Distribution Center for holding about 10 customer gathering events that caused multiple confirmed cases.

At that time, it was reported that one of the employees of the stores in the Namchangwon Nonghyup was confirmed positive for COVID-19 but continued operations without notifying the public.

18,287 citizens who visited the cooperative underwent COVID-19 testing, and the cumulative confirmed cases linked to the distribution center reached 70.

Customer apology letter from Namchangwon Nonghyup during the COVID-19 cluster infection incident. [Image source=Namchangwon Nonghyup]

In response, Namchangwon Nonghyup filed a provisional injunction to suspend execution, arguing that although it violated the quarantine guideline banning customer gathering events, the meaning of the banned gathering events by the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters was unclear, and Changwon City excessively abused and deviated from its discretion in issuing the order.

On February 1, the first trial court ruled against the plaintiff, stating that Changwon City did not abuse or deviate from its discretion.

On this day, the appellate court stated, “Even if a gathering event was held, it cannot be concluded that there was a risk of quarantine management such as cluster infection if many users did not actually concentrate in one place,” and “Since the 10-day suspension was ordered 50 days after multiple COVID-19 cases occurred and after the Chuseok holiday, when users typically increase, it is difficult to see Changwon City's order as an effective means to achieve the public interest of preventing the spread of infectious diseases.”

It continued, “The estimated loss suffered by Namchangwon Nonghyup during the approximately two-week self-closure was 677 million KRW, and if the order had been executed for the originally scheduled period, it is highly likely that similar losses would have been incurred,” and “The disadvantages to the plaintiff caused by this order are excessive compared to the public interest to be achieved, so it is considered an illegal order that abused and deviated from discretion.”

Earlier, Changwon City had filed a civil lawsuit against Namchangwon Nonghyup claiming 1.15 billion KRW in compensation for COVID-19 testing and treatment costs for confirmed patients, but withdrew the lawsuit last December following the court's recommendation for settlement.

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