Hong Ik-pyo: "'Lockdown policy' is the original term used... Concept of blocking and quarantine"

Hong Ik-pyo, Chief Spokesperson of the Democratic Party of Korea Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Hong Ikpyo, the chief spokesperson of the Democratic Party of Korea, said on the 25th regarding the remarks about the 'Daegu·Gyeongbuk (TK) lockdown measures' made at the high-level party-government-civil cooperation meeting on COVID-19 response, "It should be understood not as a concept of closing off a specific area like the Wuhan region and controlling entry and exit, but rather as meaning containment and isolation."

On the same day, Hong appeared on MBC Radio's 'Lee Seungwon's The World and Us' and said, "The term lockdown policy has been continuously used for over a month now."

He stated, "The lockdown policy mainly involves maximum containment and isolation of symptomatic individuals and confirmed cases, especially through tracking their movements to identify related persons, as well as containing and isolating infected areas. Health authorities and medical experts commonly use the terms lockdown policy and mitigation policy."

He continued, "There seems to be some misunderstanding regarding the lockdown policy related to the Daegu·Gyeongbuk region," adding, "The lockdown policy is being implemented nationwide, and the intention was to apply a stronger lockdown policy in the Daegu area, but since the context was not conveyed properly, some media reports gave the impression of alienating that region."

Hong emphasized, "We sincerely apologize to the residents of Daegu·Gyeongbuk for the insufficient explanation, and this issue absolutely does not mean a complete or physical lockdown of the Daegu area."

Earlier that morning, after the high-level party-government-civil cooperation meeting to prepare COVID-19 countermeasures, Hong briefed, "We have decided to implement the strongest possible lockdown policy beyond the usual containment measures in Daegu and Cheongdo areas of Gyeongbuk," and "We are considering using administrative power to some extent regarding movement restrictions."

In response to the controversy, the Democratic Party sent a text message to reporters clarifying, "'Implementing the strongest possible lockdown policy' means tightening the quarantine network to block the spread and community transmission of COVID-19, and does not mean completely blocking entry and exit to the region."