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Trauma of being the first

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By Lee Hyo-sik

Since the coronavirus began sweeping the entire nation late January, many offices, plants and other business establishments have been shut down as a result of infections among workers.

There is no doubt the closures tarnished the corporate reputations of those companies and hurt their bottom lines. The individuals who unintentionally led to these unexpected shutdowns have become the subject of criticism from their coworkers and others affected.

According to a recent survey of coronavirus patients in the nation by Seoul National University, they were more worried about being criticized by other people and suffering financial and other damage as a consequence while they were found to be less concerned about whether they will be able to recover from the virus.

In August, two employees at the Government Employees Pension Service tested positive for the virus, becoming Public Enemy No. 1 at the company. The head of pension manager even posted a message on Facebook, blaming the two for being reckless by going to a church in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, where mass infections occurred among worshipers. The workers were also called out for causing harm to the organization and other workers. It is not difficult to see how traumatized they must have been when reading their boss' message.

Some companies reportedly warned their employees of being penalized if they catch the highly contagious virus, while others even sent out threatening messages to hold coronavirus-infected workers legally accountable if they cause any damage.

Salaried workers, including myself, continue to struggle with the undying anxiety of being the first COVID-19 patient in their respective organizations.

Most companies have adopted the policy of working from home, or opening parallel offices in the case of our company. But these companies may be the fortunate ones, as they can technically and financially afford to carry out those measures. Also, there seems to be a certain cultural tenet where Korean companies still struggle with the novel concept of working from home. Meanwhile, many Koreans are going to work every day, masks on face and in hand, having their body temperature checked and writing down personal information or checking in with QR codes when entering highly crowded spaces.

Nobody wants the infamous title of being the one that led to the company shutdown. Furthermore, the privacy of coronavirus patients is not protected as municipal administrations make public their recent whereabouts, in a bid to prompt people who were in contact with the sick to be tested.

Above all, workers are worried that they may face long-lasting criticism of being the first coronavirus carrier in their organization and carry that burden for the rest of their working lives, as Korean society remains still very much a collective one.

The ever-mutating coronavirus will certainly be with us for many years and we will in the end treat it like a seasonal flu if a vaccine is developed. Given the virus is everywhere, anyone can contract it. By any standard, it is wrong to put the blame entirely on infected people for being careless and victimize them.

Nonetheless, we all have the duty of following doctors' advice to stay coronavirus-free and cause no harm to other fellow human beings. There are several simple habits everyone can easily practice: wash your hands as often as possible, wear a face mask at all times, avoid going to crowded places and practice other social distancing rules. If we all adopt these practices we can at the very least minimize instances of cross infection.

Lee Hyo-sik is city desk editor at The Korea Times.


Lee Hyo-sik leehs@koreatimes.co.kr


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