Deputy Prime Minister Hong Cancels Schedule Due to Secretary's COVID-19 Positive Test... Waiting at Home

Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, is speaking while presiding over the 42nd Emergency Economic Central Countermeasures Headquarters meeting held at the Government Seoul Office on August 5, 2021. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Son Seon-hee] It was revealed on the 5th that the secretary to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki tested positive for COVID-19. Accordingly, Deputy Prime Minister Hong has canceled all schedules and is waiting at home.

The Ministry of Economy and Finance announced this around 11 a.m. on the same day, stating, "Deputy Prime Minister Hong will wait at home for the epidemiological investigation results after undergoing a PCR test." They added, "He is performing normal duties from home via email, phone, and fax."

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Hong presided over the Emergency Economic Central Countermeasures Headquarters meeting at the Government Seoul Office Building at 7:30 a.m. Attendees included not only Deputy Prime Minister Hong but also Minister of Employment and Labor Ahn Kyung-duk, Minister of Science and ICT Lim Hye-sook, Financial Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-soo, Senior Presidential Secretary for Jobs Lim Seo-jung, and First Vice Minister of Economy and Finance Lee Eok-gwon, among other Blue House and government officials.

As Deputy Prime Minister Hong began waiting at home, he is expected to be absent from the K-Global Vaccine Hub Vision and Strategy Reporting Conference scheduled for the afternoon. Due to the positive case of Deputy Prime Minister Hong’s secretary, First Vice Minister Lee Eok-gwon urgently canceled the briefing related to the Emergency Economic Central Countermeasures Headquarters originally planned for 11 a.m. that day and replaced it with a written statement.

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