Cheong, cautious attitude toward calls for banning entry of Chinese nationals

"WHO Decision, Addressed Through Cooperation Among Related Countries"..."If Full Investigation of Wuhan Entrants Is Needed, Ministry of Justice to Receive Cooperation from Police Agency"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] The Blue House showed a cautious attitude toward calls for banning the entry of Chinese nationals into South Korea amid concerns over the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia).

On the 28th, a Blue House official, responding to remarks that some countries have banned the entry of Chinese nationals, said, "Each country may have slightly different measures," adding, "We are responding in close cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO) decisions and relevant countries," and "This should be judged from such a perspective."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Blue House official explained regarding the role of the Prime Minister, "The control tower for disasters and public safety is the Blue House," and "To support this role practically, the Blue House National Crisis Management Center exists and operates 24 hours whenever a situation arises."

The official added, "It is currently operational, and there are responsible agencies and ministries handling each stage of the crisis alert level. The Blue House is constantly consulting with the ministries accordingly," and "You can consider that the Prime Minister oversees practical matters. Of course, it is understood that this is being carried out in close cooperation with the Blue House."

Meanwhile, regarding the full investigation of 3,000 entrants from Wuhan City, China, the Blue House official said, "In cases where residence or contact information is unknown, we plan to resolve this in cooperation with relevant agencies," and "For foreigners, the Ministry of Justice is responsible, and if necessary, the Police Agency's cooperation is sought to handle the matter."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.