The Justice Ministry apologized for failing to prevent COVID-19 clusters at correctional facilities in the country, the largest being reported at a detention center in eastern Seoul.

Before announcing the ministry's response measures on Thursday, Vice Justice Minister Lee Yong-gu issued a public apology for causing great concern.

This is the first time that a high-ranking official from the ministry overseeing correctional facilities apologized and put forth response measures since the first infection at the Seoul detention center was reported on November 27.

The ministry came under fire for neglecting the infections of nearly 800 people for over a month, ultimately aggravating the situation, with Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae visiting the affected facility for the first time the previous day.

The ministry has raised social distancing at all correctional facilities to the highest Level Three until January 13, prohibiting visitations and training, and restricting inmates' meetings with lawyers.

Contact among inmates will be minimized and additional inmates from the Seoul facility will likely be transferred to other locations to reduce the population density.

The Seoul detention center earlier transferred over 600 inmates to other facilities in the country, including 345 who tested positive that were sent to a detention center transformed into a treatment facility.