Asymptomatic Self-Quarantine Individuals Allowed 1 Hour 40 Minutes Outing on Election Day... Accompanied by Manager to Polling Station (Update)

On the 10th, the early voting day for the 21st National Assembly election, actor Choi Bul-am is entering the Namyeong-dong early voting station set up in the Seoul Station waiting room. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Among those self-isolating due to the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), individuals without symptoms such as fever or cough will be allowed to vote on the National Assembly general election day, April 15. However, they cannot use public transportation to get to the polling station, and a manager must accompany them one-on-one from the isolation location to the polling place.

On the 12th, the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters finalized quarantine guidelines related to voting for self-isolators reflecting these details. The guidelines were created based on the principle of maximizing separation of movement paths between the general public and self-isolators and minimizing exposure of election management personnel to infection.

The target group includes those who received self-isolation notices from their respective public health centers between April 1 and 14 and are asymptomatic on election day, April 15. When going to the polling station, they cannot use public transportation and must either walk wearing a mask or use their own vehicle. It is a principle that a local government official or manager responsible for self-isolation accompanies them during the movement between their home or isolation site and the polling station. Voting will be allowed only after 6 p.m., once voting by general voters has concluded.

As this is an "unavoidable" measure to guarantee voting rights, isolation will be temporarily lifted on election day from 5:20 p.m. to 7 p.m. to prevent any possible unauthorized departures. Lee Jae-gwan, Director of Local Autonomy and Decentralization at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, stated at a briefing that "permission to go out needs to be limited to the minimum time necessary for voting," and added, "To prevent deviation from the designated route, self-isolators will be required to report to the dedicated official via a specialized application or text message when departing for the polling station, upon arrival at the waiting area, and upon return."

The government plans to survey self-isolators’ intention to vote on April 13 and 14 and prepare in advance to enable these guidelines for those who intend to participate in voting. According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, there are 14,330 polling stations nationwide. If no self-isolators intend to vote at a given station, it will operate as usual. If self-isolators do vote, some election officials will wear Level D protective suits as part of the plan.

Park Neung-hoo, First Director of the Disaster and Safety Headquarters, said, "Election-related institutions and local governments will support ensuring that voting can be conducted safely based on these quarantine guidelines."