Governor Lee Jae-myung Issues Administrative Order to Mandate Individual Mask-Wearing for All Gyeonggi Province Residents

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hun Reporter] Governor Lee Jae-myung of Gyeonggi Province issued an administrative order on August 18 beginning at 1:30 p.m. to mandate individual mask-wearing for all residents and visitors in the entire Gyeonggi Province.

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, Gyeonggi Province Superintendent of Education Lee Jae-jung, and Gyeonggi Southern Police Agency Chief Choi Hae-young held a joint press conference at Gyeonggi Province Government on that day and announced additional COVID-19 measures and joint response plans.

Four organizations—the Province, Provincial Office of Education, and Gyeonggi Southern and Northern Police Agencies—formed a 'COVID-19 Joint Response Team' and stated they will undertake joint responses for COVID-19 quarantine and prevention.

Governor Lee Jae-myung announced the first additional measure, stating, "As of this moment, in accordance with the Infectious Disease Prevention and Management Act, I am issuing an administrative order to mandate mask-wearing for all provincial residents."

Accordingly, all residents and visitors in Gyeonggi Province must mandatorily wear masks in indoor spaces (excluding unavoidable cases such as personal privacy or food consumption) and outdoors where crowds gather, such as assemblies and concerts, until a separate lifting order is issued.

Violators will face a fine of up to 3 million won or a penalty of up to 100,000 won in accordance with relevant laws. If damage such as infection spread occurs due to failure to wear a mask, quarantine costs may be claimed. To prevent public confusion, the Province announced that a two-month guidance period through October 12 will be provided before enforcement begins on October 13.

As a second additional measure, Governor Lee also issued an administrative order for diagnostic testing targeting Gyeonggi Province residents who attended events at Sarang Jeil Church in the Province or participated in assemblies at Gwanghwamun on August 8 and 15. This is the second diagnostic testing administrative order since the Itaewon club cluster in May, three months ago.

Governor Lee stated, "The cluster infection originating from Sarang Jeil Church has reached 312 cases as of August 17, already surpassing the 277 cases from the Itaewon cluster in May, making this an extremely serious situation." He added, "Gyeonggi Province residents who participated in worship services, small group meetings, retreats, campaigns, and other related meetings or events at Seoul's Sarang Jeil Church after August 7, as well as those who attended assemblies in the Gwanghwamun area in Seoul on August 8 and 15, are ordered to visit public health centers and screening clinics in Gyeonggi Province and undergo diagnostic testing at the earliest possible time by August 30."

He continued, "A considerable number of Sarang Jeil Church members with high infection potential attended the Gwanghwamun assembly on August 8 and 15, and the cluster infection is spreading rapidly, exposing assembly attendees to COVID-19 infection risk. Even those who are not active participants but simply visited or passed through the assembly site can receive free diagnostic testing during the designated period."

Governor Lee emphasized, "All diagnostic testing within the deadline is free. Even if you refuse diagnostic testing, if infection spreads due to your actions, the epidemiological investigation will confirm whether you are a Sarang Jeil Church member or visited the Gwanghwamun area, and you may be prosecuted for failure to comply with the administrative order. Quarantine costs related to infection spread caused by you may be claimed. Please note this and be sure to undergo diagnostic testing."

Violation of the diagnostic testing administrative order can result in imprisonment for up to two years or a fine of up to 20 million won.

Additionally, Governor Lee requested that the Ministry of Health and Welfare and Seoul City "rapidly provide and share accurate member rosters of Sarang Jeil Church, group training attendance lists from 'Puritan Spirituality Training Center,' names of campaign participants and signatories at Yatap Station and other locations encouraging assembly attendance."

Governor Lee stated, "Against the backdrop of vacation season coinciding with a loosening of quarantine measures, COVID-19 is resurfacing. A moment of carelessness can lead to large-scale cluster infections and a second wave of the pandemic." He urged, "With the mindset that all provincial residents are subjects of quarantine, please comply with quarantine guidelines such as 'wearing masks,' 'maintaining thorough personal hygiene,' and 'resting when sick' until COVID-19 is completely resolved."

Meanwhile, four organizations—Gyeonggi Province, the Provincial Office of Education, and Gyeonggi Southern and Northern Police Agencies—formed a 'COVID-19 Joint Response Team' at the press conference to ensure smooth execution and effectiveness of quarantine administration and students' safety, and agreed to jointly respond to quarantine measures.

Accordingly, the Province and Provincial Office of Education strengthened coordination with public health centers and local medical institutions to enable rapid diagnostic testing and other necessary measures when students and teachers with symptoms such as fever occur. They also plan to strengthen prevention activities such as quarantine disinfection for private academies and tutoring institutions and ensure compliance with quarantine guidelines.

The Gyeonggi Southern and Northern Police Agencies will support epidemiological investigations including roster investigations and cooperate to ensure quarantine administration is effective through rigorous investigations into failures to comply with laws and administrative orders such as gathering restrictions and bans, diagnosis and treatment, self-isolation, and data submission.

Gyeonggi Province Superintendent of Education Lee Jae-jung said, "Gyeonggi Province has over 33,000 private academies and tutoring institutions, which is risky. We plan to strengthen measures by paying closer attention to places such as study rooms and PC rooms. If necessary, we are considering visiting each site directly with cooperation from Gyeonggi Province and the Provincial Police Agency. We will do our best to protect over 1.65 million students, 130,000 teachers, and 65,000 educational staff from COVID-19."

Gyeonggi Southern Police Agency Chief Choi Hae-young said, "The police also plan to prioritize quarantine activities until the COVID-19 situation is resolved to some extent. We will ensure there are no gaps in the quarantine management system through investigations of infectious disease violations and joint surprise inspections of self-isolated individuals."