"Are You Sane?" Ahn Cheol-soo Criticizes Seoul's Lifting of Nightlife Venue Gathering Ban

"Creating New Sparks Across the Seoul Metropolitan Area"
Seoul City Grants Business Permits Only to Establishments Complying with Quarantine Rules

Ahn Cheol-soo, Leader of the People Party / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Lim Juhyung] As Seoul city lifted the 'gathering ban' order imposed on general entertainment establishments such as room salons and permitted limited operations, Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, strongly criticized the move, asking, "Are you out of your mind?"

In a post on Facebook on the 15th, Ahn said, "At a time when there are concerns about a second major outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) due to the spread from clubs in Itaewon, Seoul metropolitan area," adding, "(This decision) is tantamount to creating new flashpoints across the metropolitan area."

He continued, "Our children are anxiously attending school day by day," and added, "I believe entertainment business owners will understand the current situation. Seoul city should immediately revoke this decision."

Seoul city lifted the 'gathering ban' order on general entertainment establishments starting from 6 p.m. on the same day and issued a 'gathering restriction' order, easing the measures by one step.

Seoul City Eases Gathering Ban on General Entertainment Establishments Including Room Salons / Photo by Yonhap News

The gathering restriction permits businesses to operate only if they comply with quarantine rules such as △ limiting the number of users per area, maintaining at least 1 meter distance between tables △ operating a reservation system during peak hours △ managing electronic entry logs. Failure to comply with these rules may result in an immediate gathering ban order issued under the name of the district mayor upon detection.

Regarding this, Seoul city emphasized, "While considering the livelihoods of businesses affected by the gathering ban for over a month, this measure aims to minimize concerns about mass infections in entertainment facilities and strengthen the responsibility of business owners," adding, "Users will also be held accountable through reports and other actions if they violate related rules."

However, dance entertainment facilities such as clubs, colatecs, and emotional pubs, which have a relatively high risk of COVID-19 mass infection due to activity density, will be subject to these measures sequentially at a later stage.

Meanwhile, since the COVID-19 mass infection incident originating from clubs in Itaewon, Seoul city has enforced a gathering ban order on all entertainment establishments from the 9th to the 15th of last month.

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