The office of Lee Gae-ho, a member of the Democratic Party and the first active National Assembly member to test positive for COVID-19, located in Damyang, Jeonnam, was closed on the morning of the 16th. [Image source=Yonhap News]
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Soyoung] Lee Gae-ho, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, became the first active member of the National Assembly to test positive for COVID-19. It was revealed that Lee’s personal secretary violated quarantine rules prohibiting private gatherings of five or more people by visiting a nightlife establishment.
According to Gwangju City, Seo-gu District in Gwangju, and Damyang County in Jeollanam-do on the 19th, A, the personal secretary of Lee, who is the 989th confirmed case in Jeollanam-do, was found through epidemiological investigation to have visited a nightlife establishment in the Sangmu district of Seo-gu, Gwangju on the 9th.
According to the quarantine authorities’ investigation, A violated the ban on private gatherings of five or more people by visiting the establishment with a group of five, including himself, and drank alcohol in one room from 10:30 p.m. for about three hours. Among the five people in the same room, three tested positive for COVID-19.
In addition to the group, three employees of the establishment also tested positive, and three family members of the infected employees were subsequently infected. Another customer who met the infected employees also tested positive, resulting in a chain infection of 10 people linked to the nightlife establishment starting from A.
The nightlife establishment was found to have allowed groups of five or more customers and neglected to properly record visitor lists.
The quarantine authorities plan to impose fines on the five individuals, including A, who violated the ban on private gatherings, as well as on the nightlife establishment.
Earlier, on the 7th, A held a gathering for about an hour at a friend’s house in Damyang County and then moved to a nearby restaurant for a meal. This gathering also violated the quarantine rule banning private gatherings of five or more people, with seven people including A present.
Afterward, A developed symptoms on the 11th but only got tested on the 14th, three days later, and was confirmed positive. Among the group who attended this gathering, five people including A were infected.
On the 13th, a day before testing positive, A played golf with a friend in Jangseong, and two other customers who used the golf course were infected. Also, a friend who dined with A and later tested positive visited a Chinese restaurant in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju on the 10th, where contact with employees led to infections spreading to customers and their families, totaling 14 confirmed cases.
According to Gwangju Metropolitan City and Jeollanam-do on the 19th, diagnostic tests conducted mainly on visitors to the restaurant A visited and participants of the Damyang gathering resulted in a total of 41 confirmed cases through secondary infections from A. By region, there were 14 in Jeollanam-do, 24 in Gwangju, 2 in Jeonbuk, and 1 in Seoul.
Lee himself was classified as a close contact of A, underwent testing, and on the 15th became the first active lawmaker to be confirmed positive for COVID-19. Staff members at Lee’s Damyang office were also infected.
In this regard, the Democratic Party’s Damyang Regional Committee apologized, stating, "We deeply apologize to the residents for the infection incident involving some party officials. We will faithfully comply with the measures of the quarantine authorities."
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