Runaway 'Sarangjeil Church' Confirmed Patient Claims "Medical Staff Poisoned Soup to Escape"

Sarang Jeil Church, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Min Jun-young] A man in his 50s, identified as Mr. A, who tested positive for COVID-19 after attending a service at Sarang Jeil Church in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, and escaped while in isolation at Gyeonggi Provincial Medical Center Paju Hospital, was apprehended by the police. Paju Mayor Choi Jong-hwan stated, "When medical staff asked about his motive for escape, he made irrational remarks such as 'poisoning kimchi soup,' indicating a lack of common sense."

In an interview with tbs radio's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory' on the 19th, Mayor Choi said, "This could be an attempt to confuse the motive for escape or to mislead the investigation. It is still too early to make a hasty judgment, but he mentioned that he fled after poisoning kimchi soup," adding this information.

He explained, "(Mr. A) was diagnosed positive at Songtan Public Health Center in Pyeongtaek City, and due to a shortage of inpatient treatment rooms nearby, he was transferred to Gyeonggi Provincial Medical Center Paju Hospital, where he had been receiving treatment since the 15th," and added, "At around 1:15 a.m. today, he was secured in Sinchon and was readmitted to Paju Hospital at around 2:30 a.m."

He continued, "(Mr. A) is still COVID-19 positive, so face-to-face investigation is not possible," and said, "The police will conduct a full investigation after his treatment is completed."

Furthermore, he stated, "His initial positive diagnosis was made in Pyeongtaek City, so it is unrelated to Paju City. However, since he came to Gyeonggi Provincial Medical Center Paju Hospital, a public hospital, for treatment, we insist that strict measures such as criminal punishment and claims for damages should be applied without tolerance."

Earlier, Paju Hospital confirmed at around 8 a.m. on the 18th that Mr. A, who was under isolation treatment, was missing and reported his escape to the police 10 minutes later.

Paju City and Paju Hospital confirmed through closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage that Mr. A was seen leaving the hospital's main gate at around 12:18 a.m. that day.

Mr. A left his hospital room wearing blue patient pants and white slippers and exited the hospital.

It is estimated that Mr. A took a bus to Seoul from Bongilcheon, Jori-eup, about 3 km away from Paju Hospital, at around 4:30 a.m.

Mr. A stayed for about an hour at a coffee shop in Jongno-gu starting around 9 a.m., then moved to a coffee shop in Sinchon.

The police apprehended Mr. A at a coffee shop in Sinchon at around 1:15 a.m. on the 19th.

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