South Korea to adopt wristbands for quarantine violators

Move meant to help track virus, but critics worry about human rights violations

A South Korean patient affected with the coronavirus disease arrives to cast her ballot for the parliamentary election at a polling station set up at a quarantine center in Yongin, South Korea on April 11. © Reuters

SOTARO SUZUKI, Nikkei Seoul bureau chief

April 20, 2020 05:49 JST

SEOUL -- The South Korean government has decided that people who defy quarantine measures will have to wear special electronic wristbands. The move is meant to help contain the coronavirus, although some lawyers have raised concerns about human rights violations.

"After serious deliberations, we decided to put electronic wristbands on violators of self-isolation rules," Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun said Saturday.