Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon late Thursday night held a press conference to blast the government’s failure to share information on the MERS outbreak, a move praised by many frustrated with lax government measures, but also stroking criticism for allegedly spreading unverified information.

The mayor accused the Health Ministry of letting a confirmed MERS patient go to a public ceremony that 1,565 Seoul citizens attended, putting them in danger of contracting the disease. The city no longer trusted the ministry, and would take its own moves from now, Park said.

His speech immediately triggered criticism from the conservative ruling camp, who charged the liberal mayor of spreading rumors and unnecessarily worsening public fears over MERS.

President Park Geun-hye later Friday took a direct snipe at the mayor, saying local government heads should refrain from making independent decisions, saying it could cause confusion. She also pleaded with the public to trust that the government was taking all necessary measures to stop further spread of the virus.

Other Saenuri Party members also slammed the mayor’s impromptu move.

“Distrust and the spread of false information are the things that are worse than MERS,” Saenuri Party spokesman Rep. Park Dae-chul said. “Mayor Park began a truth game with the (confirmed MERS patient).”

“Making that kind of speech as the legislature is taking steps to cease partisan wars over MERS, only worsens the situation,” he added.

The conservatives cited media interviews of the MERS patient, who claimed the mayor had made factual errors. The patient, a medical doctor, said it was medically proven that he could not have spread MERS at the event as the virus was in its incubation period then. Some accused Park, a potential presidential candidate in 2017, of taking the opportunity to gain political points.

Others hailed the mayor for doing “what President Park Geun-hye should have done much earlier.”

“The Saenuri Party must stop its political attacks on Mayor Park. He is doing something that the Health Ministry and the government should have done a long time ago,” main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy Rep. Shin Kyoung-min said.

Shin represents a district in southwestern Seoul, and is also the NPAD’s chief of the party’s local committee in Seoul.

The Seoul city government had begun alerting the 1,565 who could have contracted MERS, Park said. The mayor added that the city would publicize its next steps “as soon as possible.”

Four have died due to MERS since its outbreak late last month. Over 1,800 are in quarantine while close to 200 are waiting for the test results, the government said later Friday.

President Park and the ruling party have been under heavy criticism for the spread of MERS. Comical posters lampooning the Health Ministry’s MERS manuals that warn citizens to stay away from camels went viral online.

Opposition lawmakers have also demanded that the president postpone her summit with U.S. President Barack Obama, scheduled for later this month, until the MERS outbreak ends.

By Jeong Hunny ()


koreaherald@heraldcorp.com