[Breaking] Seoul City 'Gathering Restriction Order' Ignored as Dentists Proceed with Large-Scale Event

Claims for Damages Also Possible for Violations of Quarantine Rules

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Despite Seoul City's 'Gathering Restriction Order,' the Seoul Dental Association is proceeding with a large-scale event at COEX, sparking controversy.

The city announced that since the Seoul Dental Association is scheduled to hold the '17th Seoul International Dental Equipment Exhibition (SIDEX 2020)' as planned from 12:30 PM on the 5th, it began inspecting the venue's disinfection status and compliance with quarantine rules from 11:00 AM. The event, running until the 7th, is known to have over 7,000 dentists who initially expressed their intention to participate.

Amid concerns over the spread of local infections due to a cluster outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the metropolitan area, the city stated that a large-scale nationwide event by the Seoul Dental Association is inappropriate behavior for healthcare professionals and issued a gathering restriction order late at night on the 4th for this exhibition. The gathering restriction order is one level below the 'Gathering Ban Order,' which prohibits gatherings and effectively bans events.

According to this order, the organizer, the Seoul Dental Association, should refrain from holding the event. If the event proceeds as planned, they must comply with the following rules: ▲ managing a list of attendees (name, phone number, ID verification, stored for 4 weeks then discarded) ▲ checking symptoms of attendees and staff and prohibiting entry of those with overseas travel history within the last two weeks or symptomatic individuals (with record keeping) ▲ appointing a quarantine manager ▲ maintaining a 2-meter (minimum 1 meter) distance between people in queues outside and among users inside the venue.

On the 1st, the city also sent an official letter to the Dental Association requesting the event be refrained from and recommended switching to an online event. However, as the association expressed its intention to proceed as scheduled until the day before the opening, the city issued the gathering restriction order again. Under the current Infectious Disease Control and Prevention Act, the mayor can restrict or prohibit gatherings of multiple people to prevent infectious diseases, and violating administrative orders can result in a fine of up to 3 million KRW according to Article 80 of the Act.

A city official explained, "Seoul City and Gangnam-gu will jointly conduct strong on-site inspections and evidence collection to check compliance with quarantine rules." The city also plans to claim damages for treatment and disinfection costs if the event organizer violates the preventive measures order and confirmed cases occur.

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