'Refusal to Provide Contact and Movement Details'... 50s Confirmed Case Attending Gwanghwamun Rally Reported

Incheon City, Frequent Visits to Seoul Sarang Jeil Church and Others Confirmed by GPS Tracking Results

Gwanghwamun Rally
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] A woman in her 50s who attended the Seoul Gwanghwamun rally held on Liberation Day this year and was diagnosed with COVID-19 but refused to cooperate with the epidemiological investigation has been reported to the police.

Incheon City announced on the 15th that it reported A (52, female) to the Incheon Yeonsu Police Station on charges of violating the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act.

A is suspected of obstructing the epidemiological investigation by refusing to provide essential information such as contact details and statements after being diagnosed positive on the 28th of last month.

After attending the Gwanghwamun rally on the 15th of last month for a YouTube shoot, she developed symptoms such as a sore throat and tested positive after specimen testing.

Following her diagnosis, she refused to provide essential information such as contact details and credit card information during the initial epidemiological investigation conducted to prevent the spread of the infectious disease, and avoided giving statements by claiming she had no movement since she was under self-quarantine. She also refused requests for identifiable photos for CCTV verification.

It was reported that A continued to show an uncooperative attitude by refusing to provide statements about her movement and contacts during face-to-face epidemiological investigations conducted by the Yeonsu District Office and the Incheon City epidemiological investigation team, who visited her home and the residential treatment center respectively.

According to the GPS location data investigated by the city’s epidemiological team, A was found to have frequently visited Sarang Jeil Church in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, and an apartment in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province.

Refusal, obstruction, or evasion of epidemiological investigations without justifiable reasons can result in imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up to 20 million won under the Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act.

An official from Incheon City stated, "Because A refused to provide essential information and statements, it became impossible to identify contacts or confirm how much the infection had spread to others," adding, "Since obstructing epidemiological investigations is the greatest threat to preventing the spread of COVID-19, we reported A to prevent similar cases."

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