Yongsan-gu, Testing Notice for 10,000 Visitors to Itaewon Clubs

In-depth Survey of Visitors at 5 Existing Locations... Encouraged Testing for 5,402 out of 6,370 Visitors (85%)... Confirmed 5,664 Visitors at 4 Additional Locations, Guided 4,497 (79%)

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Yongsan-gu (District Mayor Seong Jang-hyun) has prioritized completing the investigation of 12,000 visitors to Itaewon entertainment venues (clubs and pubs) during the golden holiday period.

The establishments under investigation include nine locations: King Club (club), Trunk (pub), Queen (pub), Soho (pub), Him (pub), Maid (club), Pink Elephant (pub), The Fountain (pub), and Peace Till (pub).

The investigation over the past week was conducted mainly in two phases.

The first phase targeted five clubs and pubs (King Club, Trunk, Queen, Soho, Him) known to have COVID-19 infections between April 30 and May 5. The district contacted 3,535 out of 5,517 visitors by phone (2,405) or text message (1,130) to advise them to refrain from going out and to get tested for COVID-19.

Additionally, the district advanced the investigation period for these five establishments to April 24, securing an additional 853 visitor names, and informed 662 people (78%) by phone (485) or text (177) about related matters.

For the 1,982 people who had not been reached earlier, the district investigated credit card usage records, companion testimonies, and base station location information, identifying 1,205 additional names and encouraging them to get tested.

The second phase targeted 5,664 visitors to Maid on May 2, The Fountain from April 24 to May 7, and Pink Elephant on April 29. The district contacted 4,497 people (79%) by phone (3,499) or text (998) to guide them on testing, while continuing to investigate the remaining 1,167 people (21%) through credit card usage and other data.

As of the 15th, the district has identified a total of 12,034 visitors to Itaewon entertainment venues. Among them, 9,899 (82%) have been notified. The remaining 2,135 (18%) will be cross-checked with base station information and the investigation will be finalized in cooperation with the police.

The district is also conducting publicity efforts targeting foreigners. On the 11th, urgent notices were sent to 144 foreign embassies in Korea, and related information was posted on social networking services (SNS) of foreigner communities in Itaewon and Haebangchon (Yongsan 2-ga dong). On the 13th, text messages (398) and emails (2,789) were sent to registered members of the Itaewon and Ichon Global Village Centers.

COVID-19 testing related to Itaewon clubs is conducted free of charge according to Seoul city policy. Visitors to Itaewon do not need to disclose whether they visited a ‘specific club.’ Anonymous testing is also possible. However, if contacted by health authorities and the test is not taken, a fine of 2 million KRW may be imposed.

The number of COVID-19 tests related to Itaewon clubs has exceeded 24,000 according to Seoul city standards. In Yongsan alone, 3,976 people (as of 4 PM on the 15th) have been tested.

Yongsan District Office employees are making informational calls to visitors of Itaewon clubs.

To respond to the surge in testing, the district added one more screening clinic on the 13th. The location is Hannam-dong public parking lot (224-19 Itaewon-ro). It uses a walk-through method minimizing face-to-face contact between patients and medical staff.

Seong Jang-hyun, Mayor of Yongsan-gu, said, “Through multiple rounds of phone notifications, it appears that a significant number have already been tested. Those who visited Itaewon entertainment venues between April 24 and May 6 and have not yet been tested, regardless of symptoms, are urged to visit the nearest screening clinic.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.