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A South Korean man accused of lying to authorities about his work and whereabouts during a coronavirus tracking investigation has been sentenced to six months in prison, the Yonhap news agency reported on Thursday.
The legal case is the most prominent so far in the South Korean government’s aggressive efforts to track, trace, and quarantine suspected coronavirus cases. The court in Incheon, west of Seoul, said the 24-year-old prevented contact tracing by lying in at least 20 cases and “inflicted enormous economic and social damage and caused fear among members of the community,” Yonhap reported. .
The man was accused of failing to disclose that he taught at a school in Incheon after he tested positive for the coronavirus in May, during a major outbreak centered on several nightclubs and bars in Seoul.
Prosecutors, who have asked for a two-year sentence, said infections in at least 80 other people were traced back to the man.
According to Yonhap, the man apologized in court and said he did not realize the serious repercussions of his actions. The Korea Disease Prevention and Control Agency (KDCA) reported 69 new cases of coronavirus as of midnight Wednesday, bringing the country’s total infections to 24,422 with 427 deaths.
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