Prime Minister Jeong Condemns Politicians Demanding Abolition of '9 PM Business Curfew' (Update)

Presided over the COVID-19 Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Meeting on the 22nd
"No Time for 'Quarantine Politics'" Sharp Remark

Prime Minister Jeong Sye-gyun. / Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun sharply criticized some politicians who exploited the anxiety of self-employed people, already struggling due to the government's 'post-9 PM business restriction' policy, for election purposes, calling their behavior truly deplorable on the 22nd.

At the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCH) meeting on COVID-19 response held at the Government Seoul Office that day, Prime Minister Chung said, "The COVID-19 situation on the ground is not idle enough to waste time in debates by dragging quarantine measures into politics."

He added, "Yesterday, some political circles demanded the immediate abolition of the government's post-9 PM business restriction, saying things like 'Is COVID-19 some kind of nocturnal animal?' or calling it 'unscientific and unreasonable business regulation.'"

He continued, "The fact that the number of confirmed cases, which exceeded 1,000 per day at the end of last year, has gradually decreased is largely due to the effects of 'post-9 PM business restrictions and bans on gatherings of five or more,' according to the majority of quarantine experts."

Prime Minister Chung said, "Words and actions that confuse the public, who are enduring and participating in quarantine by sacrificing their ordinary daily lives, are absolutely undesirable," and earnestly requested, "Please refrain from such behavior."

He also instructed the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and the Ministry of Environment to "closely monitor avian influenza (AI) quarantine and measures to stabilize the supply of eggs and poultry."

Prime Minister Chung has recently been making significant remarks on political issues one after another.

On the 20th, he made a statement on the radio implying that he would return to politics after serving as Prime Minister. Although he explained, "That was not my intention," many responded that it caused misunderstanding.

The day before, he publicly ordered legal and institutional improvements to the compensation system for losses suffered by the self-employed, reportedly expressing anger by saying, "Is this country the Ministry of Economy and Finance's country?"

This was in response to Kim Yong-beom, the first vice minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, indirectly opposing the idea on the 20th by saying, "It is difficult to find a country that has legalized (the self-employed loss compensation system)."