Suwon Mayor Yeom Tae-young, First Among Local Government Heads to Propose 'Easing of Quarantine System'

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jeong Jun-seong] Suwon Mayor Yeom Tae-young said, “It is not right to maintain a quarantine system premised on the one-sided sacrifice of small business owners and the self-employed,” becoming the first among local government heads to propose an ‘easing of the quarantine system.’

Appearing on a radio current affairs program on the 17th, Mayor Yeom said, “The current number of daily confirmed cases is about twice that of last year's major outbreak, but the fatality rate has become much lower,” adding, “Now that the vaccination rate has reached 70% and the fatality rate has fallen, it is time to comprehensively reconsider the quarantine system.”

Mayor Yeom Tae-young had also posted on his personal social media on the 15th, arguing for a ‘shift to a with-COVID policy.’ Through recent media interviews and personal social media, he has been raising his voice, saying, “The government should prepare measures that allow small business owners and the self-employed to overcome the crisis.”

Mayor Yeom proposed, “The quarantine response system should be redesigned based on criteria such as the rate of progression to severe illness or the fatality rate, rather than the number of confirmed cases,” adding, “Let us comprehensively revise the parts that imposed bans and restrictions on gatherings in a way that forced the one-sided sacrifice of small business owners and the self-employed.” He then explained, “It means reviewing the uniform bans and restrictions on gatherings while ensuring strict adherence to personal quarantine rules such as wearing masks.”

On his personal social media, Mayor Yeom Tae-young expressed concern, saying, “The self-employed are in a precarious situation due to business restrictions, and the closure rate of small business owners in Suwon has reached 10%,” and “the collapse of small business owners could lead to regional economic stagnation and the breakdown of the middle class.”

He went on to point out, “The ‘economic fatality rate’ of small business owners has reached a critical point, but the fiscal authorities are trapped in the logic of immediate fiscal soundness,” and said, “As fiscal capacity is expected to arise from this year's excess tax revenue, we must now prioritize spending on the most painful areas of our society.”

He also repeatedly emphasized, “We must now quickly shift the paradigm of quarantine measures to a ‘phased return to normal life’ approach focused on managing severe patients.”