Seodaemun-gu, Tracing All Visitors to the Emotional Pub Visited by Confirmed Cases to the End

Contacted 284 People Who Visited 'Damotori5' During Confirmed Patient's Visit Time (As of Morning of 13th)... Hotline Established with Seodaemun Police Station to Investigate 43 Unreachable Individuals... Cooperation with Seodaemun Police Station Significantly Shortens Usual One-Week Data Provision Period... District Mayor Moon Seok-jin: "Basic Local Governments Should Be Allowed to Directly Request Location Information from Credit Card Companies and Telecom Providers to Trace Infectious Disease Suspects"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Seodaemun-gu (Mayor Moon Seok-jin, photo) is conducting a full investigation of visitors to local emotional pubs where three confirmed COVID-19 cases from Itaewon clubs had been, to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Previously, confirmed cases number 21, 22, and 23 in Yongsan-gu stayed at ‘Damotori5’ (a general restaurant where dancing is allowed) from 9:40 PM on May 3rd to 3 AM on May 4th, and again from 11 PM on May 5th to 3 AM on May 6th.

The district guided 284 people?226 of the 269 who recorded their contact information in the visitor log at that time, plus 58 more whose contact details were obtained during phone calls?to undergo ‘2 weeks of self-quarantine’ and to ‘visit the public health center in their residential jurisdiction to get tested for COVID-19.’

As of the morning of the 13th, test results for 202 of these individuals were received: 1 tested positive and 201 tested negative. The one positive case was confirmed as patient number 76 in Bucheon City, who had visited both Damotori5 and the Itaewon club.

Meanwhile, for the remaining 43 people who could not be contacted due to incorrect phone numbers or call rejections, their identities are being continuously investigated through various methods.

First, to identify visitors, the district requested credit card companies through the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency for credit card usage information at the establishment on the relevant dates.

In particular, Seodaemun-gu has established a 24-hour hotline with the Seodaemun Police Station. Upon request from the district, the police analyze CCTV footage to determine the actual number of visitors and verify the authenticity of contact information and the identity and whereabouts of visitors through mobile phone location tracking.

Additionally, police accompaniment support will be provided if necessary.

Mayor Moon Seok-jin of Seodaemun-gu pointed out the problem that when entering entertainment establishments, some visitors record only one person’s information as a representative or provide false information, emphasizing, “Since this is a matter of public safety, from now on, identification must be verified and the entry of every individual visitor to various entertainment establishments must be recorded.”

He also stated, “Although the ‘COVID-19 Three Acts’ passed the National Assembly at the end of February, it still takes considerable time to provide credit card usage details and location information of confirmed or suspected infectious disease patients, making proactive response difficult. For tracking suspected infectious disease cases, credit card companies and mobile phone carriers should immediately provide related data upon request by local government heads, not just the police.”

Mayor Moon added, “Through the exemplary hotline established between Seodaemun-gu and the Seodaemun Police Station for infectious disease response, the period for sharing location information, which usually took about a week, will be significantly shortened. I hope this case will become a model for cooperation systems between other local governments and their respective police stations.”

Furthermore, he announced, “We will continue to promote guidance and enforcement regarding entertainment pubs, emotional pubs, jazz bars, taverns, indoor pojangmacha, and hof houses in the area until it is judged that the possibility of COVID-19 transmission has been significantly blocked.”

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