Query string becomes encoded when a static page is used as homepage

In the Wordpress Admin 'Reading Settings' under the 'Your home page displays' option, when a static page is selected as Homepage, it appears that any query string with special characters added to the URL of the base site becomes encoded.

Using an example URL, if the option was set to 'Your latest posts', I get a 200 status code with the following URL

http://my-wordpress-site.com/?query=1:2:3

However when I choose the 'Home' page to be the Homepage, and enter the same address, I get a 301 redirect to the following URL

http://my-wordpress-site.com/?query=1%3A2%3A3

All other pages seem to not be affected by this. The following URL does not redirect and encode.

http://my-wordpress-site.com/somepage/?query=1:2:3

I am struggling to find any details on why this happens. Can anyone share some insight on why this happens and whether this can be disabled and if it is safe to do so?