역학조사 대상자의 기본권 침해 방지를 위한 법제 정비방안 -「감염병의 예방 및 관리에 관한 법률」을 중심으로-

Abstract

South Korea has been remarkably successful in controlling the spread of Covid-19. This is due to the rapid and accurate conduct of large-scale epidemiological surveys and the equally rapid and accurate testing, quarantine, and treatment of contacts based on the surveys. However, despite this success, some issues had arisen related to the release of personal information and the way and scope of epidemiological surveys. Epidemiological surveys are administrative actions that have a high potential for violating the fundamental rights of those being investigated. As the survey analysis is based on basic information about patients or suspected patients with infectious diseases, it inevitably involves the collection and processing of sensitive information related to health conditions and religious activities, as well as general personal information of the subjects. Therefore, it is very important that epidemiological surveys are conducted very carefully and without violating fundamental rights. A significant proportion of the issues pertaining to epidemiological surveys can be attributed to the structural provisions of the "Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act," which was enacted and amended at a time when it was challenging to anticipate the emergence of pandemic situations such as the current Covid-19 crisis. Consequently, this paper examines the issues related to epidemiological surveys in the "Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act" and suggests potential limitations of the relevant regulations and ways to enhance them.