Firstly, I would like to offer my regards to the members of our POSTECH community and the citizens of Pohang who have been alarmed by the announcement of the confirmed case of COVID-19 on campus. The person is an employee of an external partner agency. POSTECH has been taking preventive measures on our own, but upon receiving the confirmed person’s past routes from the Pohang city government, we immediately shut down the facilities and have disinfected the premises. The procedures are expected to be completed today.

In addition, we will temporarily close the university from February 24 – 25 for the safety and health of all POSTECH members to recover the relevant sites and ready the entire campus. I promise to do our best so we can resume our campus life in a safe environment.

We ask our members to keep to strict guidelines on prevention measures while keeping an eye on the university’s guidance through the school announcement. Some inconvenience may occur, but please understand and cooperate as it is to prevent further spread.

To the citizens of Pohang, I regret to inform you that from February 21, we have restricted visitor access to multiple facilities on campus, such as the Student Union Building and dining halls including the Jigok Community Center. This may be inconvenient, but we would appreciate your refraining from entering the university facilities until the spread of COVID-19 subsides.

Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the community health center are expected to contact those university members who have overlapped paths with the confirmed person. However, they may not have the complete list, so please check the detailed route information. In addition to the currently identified routes, we will share details with the relevant organizations and notify our members as soon as they are confirmed.

Even if you have not been contacted, if you suspect that you were at locations where the confirmed person has visited, we ask you to wear a mask and take self-isolation measures. Please call 1339 or contact POSTECH’s General Affairs team (279-2620) if you show the slightest sign of symptoms. The university will assist you with your transfer to the hospital and other related matters.

Although the confirmed person is an employee of an external organization, it has occurred on our campus and we regret causing concern to our POSTECH community and the citizens of Pohang. Once again, we ask for undivided support from our professors, staff, our partner companies and students to prevent further spread.

I sincerely wish you all good health and safety.

Thank you.

February 23, 2020

Moo Hwan Kim
President

Message from the President (2) on university closure and 2020 academic calendar (2020.02.24)

Message from the President (3) – Dear POSTECH family (2020.02.25)