코로나19 대응의 성과와 법적 과제

Abstract

Since its first discovery in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China in December 2019, the COVID-19 has caused considerable damage to South Korea. On September 1, 2020, the cumulative number of COVID-19 confirmed exceeded 20,000, and on December 31, 60,740 confirmed cases and 900 deaths in South Korea. Because of the high spread of COVID-19, active quarantine needs to be carried out even for suspected infectious diseases or confirmed patients with no clear symptoms, and social distancing for infection prevention must be carried out.BR It is clear that the need for government intervention to protect the lives and health of citizens has increased as the pandemic of infectious diseases continues over a long period of time in all regions, however, the quarantine authorities must consider to what extent it will strengthen quarantine and quarantine measures aimed at public safety while minimizing infringement of fundamental rights.BR In this paper, I would like to review the various incidents that our society has experienced while responding to COVID-19 over the past year, quarantine and quarantine measures to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, and the legal challenges accompanying them. For this purpose, focusing on the revision of the so-called ‘the 3 Acts on COVID-19’, I will examine the progress of the COVID-19 outbreak in our society, strengthened quarantine, and legal basis. Analyzing the outcome of the COVID-19 response, I reviewed the legal issues on the fundamental rights.BR In restricting an individual’s fundamental rights to the public risk of infectious diseases, governmental regulations must meet all of the following: justification of the purpose, the adequacy of the method to achieve the purpose, the minimum of damage, and the balance between legal interests to be protected by legislation and infringed fundamental rights. Therefore, the process of public debate and opinion gathering is essential for legislation that restricts fundamental rights. Unfortunately, however, the frequent outbreaks of new infectious diseases do not provide enough time to reach a social consensus on legislation. It may be pointed out that the revised ‘the 3 Acts on COVID-19’ was focused on solving the immediate problem and that discussions were insufficient in the legislative process. As for the necessary matters - even if an infectious disease situation is ongoing - it is desirable to promote rapid legal reform and system improvement.BR Without taking into account the social changes caused by COVID-19, the quarantine authorities’ actions that limit individual rights or impose obligations cannot be prematurely judged as ‘unconstitutional’. However, more careful and meticulous attention should be paid to matters accompanying the government’s quarantine and quarantine measures to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, such as the collection and processing of personal information for confirmation tests and the effectiveness of the recommendation to restrict religious assemblies. From the government’s point of view, personal information such as infectious disease patients and suspected infectious diseases is necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and protect the lives and health of the people, but the principles and procedures for collecting and processing it must be strictly observed. Freedom of religious assembly is also guaranteed in principle, but a higher level of protection should be premised on the health and life of other citizens who may be violated by such assembly.