Insufficient COVID-19 Prevention Management in Foreign Resident Areas and Highway Rest Stops

Ministry of the Interior and Safety Conducts Planned Inspections of 11 Vulnerable Facilities Excluded from Management
Establishing a Proactive Prevention System through Preemptive Identification of Blind Spots

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] It has been revealed that COVID-19 quarantine management is considerably inadequate in areas where foreigners live in groups, labor markets, highway rest stops, bowling alleys, small performance venues, and other locations.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 21st that, as the COVID-19 situation has prolonged and unexpected cluster infections have continued, it has been strengthening planned inspections targeting 11 vulnerable facility sectors since last month to proactively identify blind spots in quarantine management.

The inspection targets are facilities that are not included among the 12 high-risk facilities designated by the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH) for intensive quarantine management but have infection risks due to unavoidable characteristics such as being 'enclosed, crowded, and close-contact' environments. These include foreigner-dense facilities, labor markets, small performance venues, meat processing companies, jjokbangchon (tiny room villages), goshiwon (small dormitory-style rooms), hambasikdang (construction site restaurants), highway rest stops, bowling alleys, table tennis halls, and dance academies.

Inspection results pointed out that jjokbangchon mostly house elderly residents and those with underlying conditions, requiring more meticulous support such as residential disinfection, fever checks, and provision of quarantine supplies. In goshiwons, most places lacked visitor management and fever checks, and common area disinfection was not conducted.

In foreigner-dense areas, known as 'beehive villages,' 10 to 20 people live collectively per facility in residences with poor hygiene management such as foul odors, raising concerns about cluster infections if confirmed cases occur. Many among them are undocumented immigrants, making epidemiological investigations vulnerable due to concerns about evasion during identity verification.

Labor markets are mostly composed of foreign job seekers, where basic quarantine rules such as social distancing and mask-wearing are not observed, increasing the risk of cluster infections. Hambasikdang located at large construction sites showed excellent quarantine management, whereas those at small construction sites often had people eating face-to-face without proper quarantine measures. Nationwide highway rest stops are also used by unspecified many people in restaurants and other facilities, but face-to-face dining and table disinfection were not conducted, indicating a need for improvement.

Small performance venues had poor ventilation, and social distancing and mask-wearing among audiences were insufficient. Especially, standing concert halls where music performances take place require special management due to the risk of droplet spread induced by shouting.

Bowling alleys and billiard halls are mostly enclosed facilities where sports equipment is shared but disinfection was not implemented, and most users did not wear masks, resulting in frequent contact. Additionally, jiu-jitsu, hapkido, and judo dojos are enclosed spaces without ventilation where group exercises such as sparring are conducted without masks, posing a risk of infection spread.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety has instructed related ministries and local governments to regularly inspect and manage the COVID-19 infection risk factors revealed by this planned inspection. Furthermore, starting this month, they plan to conduct additional on-site inspections of quarantine-vulnerable facilities proposed through COVID-19 risk factor safety reports.

Additional inspection targets include poker bars, parties at lodging facilities such as hotels, pensions, and guesthouses, chartered tourist buses by hiking clubs, private auction houses, adult-targeted academies for acting, dance, and music, unmanned cafes, and apartment model houses.

Choi Bok-su, Director of the Disaster Cooperation Office at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, emphasized, "Going forward, we will strengthen planned inspections based on reports from the public about quarantine blind spots, include high-risk sectors within the scope of quarantine management, and proactively block the spread of COVID-19 infections."

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