Court Issues First Prison Sentence for Self-Quarantine Violator... Applies Revised Infectious Disease Control Act

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] A man in his 20s who violated self-quarantine measures for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) was sentenced to prison. This is the first court ruling on a self-quarantine violation. This ruling is expected to serve as a kind of standard for the series of upcoming trials related to self-quarantine violations.

On the 26th, Judge Jung Eun-young of the Criminal Division 9 at Uijeongbu District Court sentenced Kim (27), who was indicted for violating the "Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act (Infectious Disease Prevention Act)," to four months in prison. The sentence applied the Infectious Disease Prevention Act, which was revised last month, for the first time.

The government revised the law on the 5th of last month, raising the penalty for violating self-quarantine from the previous "a fine of 3 million won" to "imprisonment for up to one year or a fine of 10 million won." The court reflected the seriousness of the case by imposing a prison sentence higher than the previous fine but lower than the maximum one-year imprisonment.

Kim was classified as a self-quarantine subject after a COVID-19 cluster infection occurred at Uijeongbu St. Mary's Hospital, where he was hospitalized, in early last month. He complied well with the quarantine measures at his home in Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province, but on the 14th of last month, two days before the quarantine was to be lifted, he left his home without permission and went missing. Police tracking Kim's whereabouts detected a signal from his briefly turned-on mobile phone two days later and arrested him. Kim stated during the police investigation, "I felt frustrated and stressed due to the long self-quarantine."

The police and Uijeongbu City quarantined Kim at a temporary protection facility in Yangju City and conducted a COVID-19 test. The test result was negative. However, Kim again left the quarantine facility without permission and was caught in a nearby mountain an hour later. The prosecution, having received the case from the police, arrested and indicted Kim on the 27th of last month for violating the Infectious Disease Prevention Act.

This ruling is expected to be a gauge for other upcoming trials related to self-quarantine violations. According to data compiled by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office, as of the 22nd, 73 cases have been sent to trial for charges including self-quarantine violations and obstructing epidemiological investigations by quarantine authorities, with verdicts pending. The first person to be arrested among self-quarantine violators, A (68), is scheduled to receive a verdict at the Seoul Eastern District Court on the 16th of next month. A was arrested and indicted for violating self-quarantine measures by visiting saunas and restaurants for two days after entering the U.S. on the 14th of last month. The prosecution has requested a six-month prison sentence for A.