1303 Participants of Gwangbokjeol Rally 'Unreachable' and 'Refuse Testing'

"Request to Test by the 26th... Fine Imposed for Non-Compliance"

Participants of a conservative group rally pushed barricades and confronted the police at Gwanghwamun Square in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 15th to attend the August 15 Liberation Day rally. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suwan] As the number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) continues to rise, mainly among attendees of the August 15 Gwanghwamun rally, it has been confirmed that out of about 10,000 people subject to testing, 1,303 either did not respond to contact attempts or refused testing.

On the 24th, Kim Kyungtak, Director of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Cultural Policy Division, stated at a COVID-19 emergency briefing, "As of the 23rd, there have been 1,303 cases of citizens who attended the Gwanghwamun rally or were nearby who either did not respond to contact attempts or refused testing."

Director Kim explained, "In some cases, phone calls were connected, but the response was that there was no intention to undergo testing."

Earlier, the city received over 10,576 mobile phone numbers of citizens who attended the rally or stayed nearby for more than 30 minutes from the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters.

This list was obtained through inquiries to telecommunications base stations. After excluding duplicate numbers, the actual number of people subject to investigation is 6,949. The city and autonomous districts are conducting full phone contact with these individuals.

By the 22nd, the city had contacted about 80% of the citizens to guide them on diagnostic testing. Of these, about 30% underwent testing, and 17 people tested positive during this process.

However, 1,303 people remain unreachable or continue to refuse testing. Until the 22nd, the number was 1,299, but 4 more people expressed refusal to test the day before.

The city is continuing to contact the remaining subjects through phone calls and text messages to ensure compliance with testing orders by the 26th.

Additionally, if testing is refused without a valid reason, fines will be imposed according to the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act.

Meanwhile, the number of confirmed cases related to the Gwanghwamun rally has totaled 47, with 40 cases confirmed by the 22nd since the first case was identified on the 16th, and 6 additional cases confirmed on the 23rd.

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