Eight Incheon Academy Students Infected in Group... Itaewon Club Confirmed Instructor Spreads Virus (Comprehensive)

False Statements on Job and Movements by 20s Academy Instructor... Incheon City Plans to File Charges
Two Churches Contacted with Academy and Students in Michuhol-gu Closed
Incheon Office of Education Conducts Full Survey of 5,500 Academy Instructors

Incheon Mayor Park Nam-chun (right) and Incheon Superintendent of Education Do Seong-hoon are holding an emergency press conference on the 13th regarding the 'Incheon Academy COVID-19 Cluster Infection' originating from Itaewon clubs.
[Photo by Incheon City]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] In Incheon, eight people including students and parents were collectively infected with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) by a private academy instructor who visited a club in Itaewon, Seoul. Moreover, some of the confirmed students were found to have attended church over the weekend, raising concerns about a third wave of infection spread.

According to Incheon City on the 13th, after private academy instructor A (25, Michuhol-gu, confirmed case No. 102), who visited a club in Itaewon, Seoul, tested positive for COVID-19, students, parents, and fellow instructors who had direct or indirect contact with him were consecutively confirmed positive.

The additional eight confirmed cases include one fellow instructor, six students, and one parent, all of whom had direct or indirect contact with A, who works as an instructor at a private academy in Michuhol-gu.

In Michuhol-gu, fellow instructor B (20, male), who worked at the same academy as A, and two high school students, C (16) and D (19), who are academy students, were confirmed positive.

In Yeonsu-gu, two people, E (13), who receives private tutoring from A, and E’s mother (46), also tested positive and were transported to the hospital. In Jung-gu, three first-year female high school students attending the academy where A works were all confirmed positive.

During the initial investigation by health authorities, A reportedly did not disclose that he was a private academy instructor and claimed to be unemployed. However, doubting A’s statement, Incheon City checked his mobile phone location information (GPS) and confirmed that he was working as an instructor at a private academy in Michuhol-gu and also providing private tutoring.

A is currently known to be a senior university student. Incheon City plans to report A to the police under the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act for providing false statements about his occupation and movements during the epidemiological investigation and for concealing the fact that he was teaching at the academy.

The city is strengthening quarantine measures focusing on the confirmed patients’ movement routes and is conducting diagnostic tests on additional contacts, including 118 students from the academy.

Furthermore, since it was confirmed that two infected academy students attended worship services at two churches in Michuhol-gu and Dong-gu on the 10th, diagnostic tests will be conducted on 1,050 church members.

The city has closed the academy and the two churches. The Incheon Metropolitan Office of Education is also conducting a full survey of over 5,500 private academy instructors in the city and has requested academies to refrain from operating.

Incheon Mayor Park Namchun stated at an online press conference on the day, "We have requested the police to check GPS data for an in-depth epidemiological investigation and contact tracing of the confirmed cases, and after reviewing CCTV footage of their movement routes, we will decide whether to close facilities."

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