[Summary] First COVID-19 Case Confirmed in Ministry of National Defense

On the 5th, Defense Minister Seo Wook attended the National Assembly National Defense Committee's audit of the Ministry of National Defense held at the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, and received a report from officials before the start of the audit. On this day, the National Defense Committee's audit faced disruptions due to disputes surrounding the Daejang-dong development allegations. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] A COVID-19 case has been confirmed for the first time at the Ministry of National Defense headquarters, the "heart of the military," located in Yongsan-gu, Seoul.

According to the Ministry of National Defense on the 8th, one employee working on the first floor of the Ministry of National Defense building tested positive for COVID-19. Currently, the Ministry has conducted polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests on close contacts and completed emergency disinfection of the office where the confirmed case worked.

Military and health authorities immediately set up a temporary testing site near the building upon confirmation of the case, requiring employees from the same department, close contacts, and users of the cafeteria visited by the confirmed case to undergo testing.

Since the confirmed case's office is adjacent to the press room, all journalists were also notified to get tested, with about 150 people reportedly tested. Results are expected as early as late afternoon on the same day.

The military authorities also conducted emergency disinfection of the office of the confirmed case. According to military officials, Minister of National Defense Seo Wook was not classified as a PCR test subject as his movements did not overlap with the confirmed case. However, he canceled his planned on-site attendance at the civilian-government-military joint committee temporary meeting held at the National Defense Convention in the afternoon and attended the meeting via video conference instead.

In a text message sent to employees, the Ministry of National Defense urged, "Please strictly adhere to quarantine rules until the test results are out."

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