Internet Community Spreads 'Confirmed Case' Information... Police Launch Investigation

Police Agency Assigns Case to Sejong Regional Police Agency Housing the Ministry of Health and Welfare

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The police have launched an investigation into the incident in which official documents containing personal information of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (Wuhan pneumonia) were distributed on internet communities and other platforms.

The National Police Agency announced on the 1st that it had assigned the case, which was requested for investigation by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, to the Sejong Regional Police Agency. A police official explained, "The Ministry of Health and Welfare requested the investigation yesterday afternoon, and the case was assigned," adding, "The Sejong Police Agency will conduct the investigation."

Recently, photos of documents containing information about confirmed cases, with unknown sources, began circulating on internet communities. The document was titled "Report on Contacts of Confirmed Cases of Novel Coronavirus" and contained personal information of confirmed patients and their contacts.

The document was confirmed to have been prepared by a public health center in Seoul. The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters had previously stated that it would request a police investigation regarding the document leak.

Meanwhile, on the afternoon of the previous day, separate from this document, another document containing personal information of three confirmed cases was circulated through internet communities. However, this document was proven to be fake, and the police have separately launched a preliminary investigation.

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