1982 Visitors with Unknown Exposure at Itaewon... Police Are Tracking Them

Mobilization of Police Rapid Response Teams for Investigation and Criminal Cases Upon Request by Quarantine Authorities
Analysis of CCTV, Card Records, and Base Station Data

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 Jinhyung Kang aymsdream@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] The police are launching a large-scale search to locate 1,982 unidentified individuals among the 5,517 visitors to Itaewon clubs in Seoul. Methods such as analyzing call records from the area and checking credit card usage details will also be employed.

A National Police Agency official stated on the 11th, "A rapid response team of 8,559 officers, including investigators and detectives from police stations nationwide, is on standby to track suspected patients related to the Itaewon clubs," adding, "The rapid response team will track suspects based on related data such as mobile carrier base station records, credit card details, and closed-circuit television (CCTV)." The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is conducting a preliminary investigation, classifying residential areas mainly based on credit card usage records.

Earlier, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, conducted a full survey of 5,517 visitors to five Itaewon clubs and pubs identified as places where confirmed COVID-19 patients stayed from the 30th of last month to the 5th of this month. However, only 3,535 individuals (64%) were confirmed and surveyed. These individuals were advised to refrain from going out and to undergo specimen testing. The remaining 1,982 people (36%) have not been reached due to reasons such as not answering calls or providing false contact information.

Initially, quarantine authorities will begin a preliminary investigation of these individuals, but if this proves difficult, the police will step in to locate them. The police plan to deploy the rapid response team to identify club visitors upon request from quarantine authorities. During the mass infection incident at the Shincheonji Church of Jesus in Daegu in February, the police also responded to requests from the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to track the whereabouts of 9,020 Shincheonji members. At that time, the police formed a joint rapid response team and succeeded in confirming the whereabouts of all individuals through CCTV tracking, credit card usage details, and communication record checks. A police official emphasized, "The tracking of Itaewon club visitors this time can be seen as a situation similar to that of Shincheonji," and added, "We will do our best to ensure rapid location confirmation."

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