Han Jeong-ae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is asking questions to the government regarding education, social, and cultural fields at the National Assembly plenary session last July. / Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] On the 19th, Han Jeong-ae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized some People Power Party lawmakers who raised allegations of manipulation in COVID-19 diagnostic testing, saying it was "just throwing accusations around recklessly."
In a post on her Facebook on the same day, Representative Han said, "Shouldn't such claims be made by presenting evidence that there were instructions to reduce or increase the number of diagnostic tests?"
She continued, "Contrary to claims by some in the People Power Party, the number of confirmed cases is not controlled by reducing or increasing the number of diagnostic tests," adding, "It's just reckless accusations. If you follow the claims of Jeon Gwang-hoon or some far-right YouTubers as they are, you become like them. I say this out of genuine concern."
Regarding People Power Party emergency committee chairman Kim Jong-in and others advocating for the introduction of rapid COVID-19 test kits, Representative Han rebutted, saying, "Experts such as the Korean Society for Laboratory Medicine state that the effectiveness is lacking as 40% of actual patients are missed."
Earlier, on the 17th, Chairman Kim said at an emergency committee meeting, "There are still over 100 confirmed COVID-19 cases daily. Asymptomatic confirmed cases keep occurring," and added, "People in an asymptomatic state are walking around without knowing they have COVID-19. Compared to other countries, I think the number of tests is too low," arguing that self-diagnostic kits should be distributed to the public.
On the same party, Representative Yoon Hee-sook criticized the government's COVID-19 status reports in a Facebook post on the 14th, saying, "Even though the number of confirmed cases varies depending on the number of tests, only the number of confirmed cases is announced without mentioning the denominator, which has been consistently criticized but ignored."
Representative Yoon further raised suspicions, saying, "On weekends, the number of tests decreases due to reduced testing personnel, but it is portrayed as if the decrease in confirmed cases reflects successful quarantine measures," and added, "Suspicions that tests are increased when necessary to induce fear, and that the government uses quarantine for other purposes, have not subsided."
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