The OP is conflating an emergency exit, which as noted is pressure positive from the interior and one knows where it is located with a door plug which is fixed into place and cannot be opened. Further while a door plug can be seen from the exterior, it can not be seen from the interior. Finally, depending on the aircraft and just like all aircraft exits, the location relative to seat row varies.

So to answer the OP question, no because the two are not related.


I should add that door plugs are designed for aircraft customization. Some buyers will order the plane to hold X passengers. If X is above a certain limit then additional exits are required. If X is below the limit then few exits are required. From an engineering perspective door plugs are fixed into place and for manufacturing it is easier to have them installed from the outside. As such, are not self sealing. From what I have learned the bolts used have wire tie heads. For the bolts to come out this step would have been missed. However, it sounds as though there were no bolts.