Hiding Movement Leads to Over 20 Infections Spread...Active Police Officer Sent to Prosecution

The photo is not directly related to the article. [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyesook] A current police officer who concealed his movements during the epidemiological investigation by health authorities after testing positive for COVID-19, causing 'n-th infection,' has been booked without detention.

On the 20th, the Namdong Police Station in Incheon announced that Officer A (in his 40s), affiliated with a police station in Seoul, is scheduled to be sent to the prosecution on charges of violating the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act.

Officer A is accused of obstructing the epidemiological investigation by health authorities through false statements, such as hiding his movement routes and contacts with others after being diagnosed with COVID-19 on May 25.

Two days before his diagnosis, on May 23, while his child was self-quarantined as a contact of a confirmed case and he was working from home, he attended a table tennis club meeting and met Mr. B, but he concealed this during the epidemiological investigation.

The health authorities checked Officer A's movement path through mobile phone location information (GPS) and asked if he had any contacts at that time, but Officer A stated that he did not. However, during an in-depth epidemiological investigation, it was revealed that another confirmed case, Mr. B, had contact with Officer A during the club activities, exposing the hidden infection link.

During the police investigation, Officer A reportedly admitted to the charges, stating, "I had body aches and was mentally foggy during the epidemiological investigation, so I could not provide accurate statements."

Earlier, the Incheon city government filed a complaint with the police last month, stating that more than 20 additional infections occurred due to Officer A concealing his movements.

A police official stated, "Since the charges against Officer A have been confirmed based on the investigation results, he is scheduled to be sent to the prosecution within this week."

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