Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun has reiterated that the government will apply a zero tolerance policy for travelers who fail to follow self-quarantine steps after entering South Korea.

Chung emphasized this when he chaired a pan-government meeting on the response to the COVID-19 pandemic as the government began enforcing from Wednesday a two-week mandatory self-quarantine for all people arriving from overseas amid a sharp rise in coronavirus cases from abroad.  

Echoing remarks he made last Thursday, Chung said the measure is a mandatory legal step aimed at protecting communities, warning that any violation will lead to official complaints or immediate deportation. 

The prime minister, in particular, expressed concerns about violations of the quarantine measures by young students who return to the country after studying abroad. 

On schools resuming classes in phases online from next Thursday, Chung said the move was the government’s next best option in order to guarantee students the right to learn while the safety of physically going to school cannot be guaranteed.