A key correctional facility in Seoul which had reported more than 100 COVID-19 cases last week has seen 288 additional cases.  

According to the Justice Ministry on Friday, health authorities conducted virus tests on about 416 employees and some two-thousand inmates at Seoul Dongbu Detention Center and found that two employees and 286 inmates tested positive.  

This comes after the detention center saw 186 infections last week. As a result, the correctional facility's accumulated caseload grew to 514.  

The ministry believes the latest infections resulted from the newly confirmed patients having come in close contact with patients who tested positive last week.  

Former President Lee Myung-bak, who is currently serving his sentence at the detention center, reportedly tested negative.