A Veterans Affairs Employee Who Worked in Sejong City Tests Positive for COVID-19... Partial Closure of the Government Complex

On the afternoon of the 5th, new medical public health doctors for the year 2020 received job training to prepare for deployment to the field of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) at the Swiss Grand Hotel Convention Center in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. They are listening to instructions on precautions when removing gloves. The photo is unrelated to the article content.

One employee of the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs (MPVA) who worked at the Government Complex Sejong tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), leading to the temporary closure of part of the MPVA building within the complex.

The MPVA announced on the 5th that an employee working at the National Yeongcheon Veterans Cemetery in Yeongcheon, Gyeongbuk, was confirmed as a COVID-19 case.

This employee worked at the MPVA headquarters in Sejong City until the 29th of last month and was transferred to the National Yeongcheon Veterans Cemetery on the 2nd of this month.

The MPVA stated, "As a preventive measure, employees working in the same department underwent testing at the Sejong City Public Health Center this afternoon."

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s Government Complex Management Headquarters temporarily closed the office where the employee worked in Building 9 of Sejong Complex 1, where the MPVA is located, and conducted disinfection measures throughout the building.

An epidemiological investigation is currently underway to trace the confirmed patient’s movement and contacts, and the Government Complex Management Headquarters is reviewing closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage within the building to track the movement path.

The Government Complex Management Headquarters plans to determine the scope of the temporary closure based on the results of the epidemiological investigation.

Currently, about 15,000 central government officials work at the Government Complex Sejong.

Sejong Complex 1 consists of 15 interconnected buildings, housing over 20 agencies including the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

If the confirmed MPVA employee moved to other departments or buildings within Sejong Complex 1, the scope of the temporary closure and the number of people required to self-quarantine could increase.

Following consecutive COVID-19 cases among officials at the Ministry of Personnel Management located in a nearby private building and the Daegu Regional Government Office on the 28th of last month, the Government Complex Management Headquarters closed the connecting corridors between buildings in Sejong Complex starting from the 3rd. This employee worked at the Sejong Complex until the 29th of last month.

A representative from the Complex Management Headquarters said, "As a preventive measure, the office where the employee worked has been vacated, and the extent of the temporary closure will be decided based on the epidemiological investigation results. Even if the office within the complex is temporarily closed, it can be used again starting from the 7th, two days later."

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