Over 50 Military Personnel Voluntarily Reported Visiting Itaewon

On the 10th, when Seoul City issued a 'gathering ban order' for all entertainment facilities in Seoul following the COVID-19 cluster infection outbreak originating from Itaewon clubs, a gathering ban notice was posted at an Itaewon club in Seoul known to have been visited by confirmed cases. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Yang Nak-gyu] It has been confirmed that around 50 military personnel visited entertainment bars and pubs in the Itaewon area around June 2, when the 66th COVID-19 patient in Yongin visited an Itaewon club. As a result, concerns about the spread of COVID-19 are rising again within the military, which had lifted restrictions on outings and leave.

According to military authorities on the 11th, the Ministry of National Defense issued a voluntary reporting guideline on the 9th to all military personnel who visited clubs in Itaewon. The target group includes soldiers who visited the Itaewon area from May 24 to June 6. About 50 soldiers voluntarily reported by the 11th. Among them, about 30 were army, navy, and air force trainees who visited Itaewon before enlistment. The remaining 20 were active-duty soldiers of the army, navy, and air force who visited Itaewon.

In particular, most of the voluntarily reporting soldiers are known to be stationed in field units outside the Seoul area, raising concerns that additional infections may increase considering their movement routes returning to their units and activities within the units during the unreported period. The military reportedly isolated these soldiers and conducted polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests to confirm infection status.

Earlier, Corporal A of the Cyber Command, a direct unit under the Ministry of National Defense, visited an Itaewon club in the early morning of the 2nd, resulting in one officer and one soldier from the same unit testing positive. Additionally, an army captain was confirmed infected after visiting the same Itaewon club visited by the 'Yongin 66th patient' on the same day. The military authorities plan to take disciplinary action against these two individuals.

The military has a policy of imposing heavier penalties if soldiers fail to report their Itaewon visits during the voluntary reporting period and are later found out. Conversely, it has announced that no disciplinary action will be taken if the visit is reported during the voluntary reporting period. However, since the reporters have likely already returned to their units and had contact with other unit members, thorough measures are being taken to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infection.

Asia Economy DB / Not related to the article content.

The military lifted restrictions on soldiers' outings and leave on the 8th after 76 days. Among military personnel, there are concerns that outings and leave might be restricted again due to the Itaewon club incident. The military imposed leave restrictions on the Cyber Command, where confirmed cases appeared, and the army direct unit in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province. In this regard, inside and outside the military, there are calls to reinstate controls on officers' outings after work, as some officers were found to have violated guidelines prohibiting visits to crowded facilities after work.

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