[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The Ministry of Justice announced that starting from the 1st, it will take firm and strong legal actions against all overseas entrants who violate mandatory self-quarantine and other measures.
This means that regardless of nationality, all entrants coming into Korea from abroad who fail to properly comply with necessary measures will be severely punished.
Violators will face criminal penalties under the "Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act (Infectious Disease Act)" effective from the 5th. Once the Infectious Disease Act is enforced, penalties for violators will be strengthened to include imprisonment of up to one year or fines of up to 10 million won.
The Ministry of Justice also plans to pursue claims for damages if violations of self-quarantine measures are accompanied by illegal acts causing additional quarantine measures and national losses due to infection spread.
For foreigners, regardless of civil or criminal measures, visas and residence permits may be revoked, and depending on the severity of the act, deportation or entry bans may be imposed.
The Ministry explained that this measure was taken as cases of violating self-quarantine measures have frequently occurred amid growing public concern due to the recent increase in imported cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) from overseas.
Meanwhile, as of midnight today, 560 new confirmed cases imported from overseas into Korea were recorded. This accounts for 5.7% of the total 9,887 patients.
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