Outbreak at Dongbu Detention Center... Minister Chu: "Appropriate Measures Taken"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae stated regarding the COVID-19 cluster infection incident at Seoul Eastern Detention Center, "Appropriate measures that could be taken were implemented."

On the 8th, Minister Choo said at the plenary meeting of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, "After an employee was first confirmed positive on November 27 last year, I ordered testing of close contacts, and all tested negative," adding, "Since this was in accordance with the quarantine authorities' guidelines, it cannot be said that appropriate measures were not taken."

After a detainee was first confirmed positive on December 14, she requested mass testing, but since the quarantine authorities suggested monitoring the situation, she had no choice but to respect that, Minister Choo explained.

Regarding the detainee who displayed a "Please save me" placard outside, she said, "In a situation where physical freedom is restricted, it is natural to feel anxious when an infectious disease spreads," and added, "We are focusing on quarantine measures rather than punishment as much as possible." However, she also stated, "Political appointees bear unlimited responsibility," and "In that sense, I express my apologies."

When asked whether the adoptive mother in the "Jeong-in case" could be charged with murder, she replied, "I will oversee whether the police sent an opinion charging child abuse resulting in death and whether the prosecution indicted without further investigation, as part of my supervisory authority." Regarding a question about whether she agrees to amend the law if industrial accidents do not decrease in workplaces with fewer than five employees, which are excluded from the Serious Accidents Punishment Act, she said, "Yes," and explained, "I hope it passes with conditions such as within one year."

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