Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun has vowed stern legal action against violators of quarantine rules, saying the nation is facing a critical moment again in its fight against the coronavirus.
Chairing a government meeting on COVID-19 responses on Sunday, Chung said in the case of violations, such as not wearing masks in facilities where compliance of such rules is mandatory, the government will hold the business operators and individual violators accountable.
The prime minister said most of the patients contracted the virus due to their failure to follow quarantine rules.
He said the government will actively seek legal procedures to demand indemnity if it is found that negligence by infected patients caused community spread or more individual infections.
Chung said the government will also push for legislation allowing the authorities to impose fines on individuals if they break quarantine rules, in an effort to quicken the process for taking appropriate administrative steps.