Suwon City, Is the 'Jokgu Court' Okay Despite the Massive COVID-19 Spread?

Concerns Over Administrative Gap After Yeom Tae-young, Mayor of Suwon, Runs for Democratic Party Supreme Council Member
Violation of Disaster Basic Income Payment Regulations Causes Province to Lose 12 Billion Won in Grants

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] "Gathering like a swarm of bees, clapping, cheering, high-fiving..."

On the 16th, when even professional soccer and baseball returned to games without spectators, members of a local jokgu club gathered at the jokgu court behind Onsu-gol Oncheon in Gwonseon-gu, Suwon, Gyeonggi Province. There were about 30 people across three courts. They had no awareness of what day it was. They were solely focused on passing the ball they received to their partner or sending it over to the opponent’s court. If they were lucky enough to score an attack point, they high-fived and shouted sounds close to screams.

However, unfortunately, this day marked a grim forecast signaling the start of a second "pandemic" as COVID-19 cases surged rapidly, centered around some churches.

On this day alone, 75 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in Gyeonggi Province. The rate of increase was worthy of the Guinness World Records. As a result, the cumulative number of confirmed cases in the province reached 1,988, approaching the 2,000 mark.

Eventually, the government recognized the seriousness of the COVID-19 spread and raised social distancing to Level 2 starting at midnight on this day. Gyeonggi Province held an emergency meeting and issued an "assembly restriction administrative order" for eight types of multi-use facilities, including large restaurants. Wedding halls and funeral homes were also included. Despite these severe circumstances, these people were absorbed in jokgu without concern.

The jokgu court in question is located in the center surrounded by apartments, so noise complaints are constant.

A resident living in a nearby apartment said, "The government says the COVID-19 pandemic is starting again by raising social distancing to Level 2, but I don’t know if it’s right to play jokgu without wearing masks," expressing concern, "I worry that the people who came to the jokgu court might cause secondary or tertiary (COVID) damage to local residents."

Some voices also point out the leakage phenomenon in Suwon city administration.

In fact, Suwon City recently did not receive the 12 billion won scale "Special Adjustment Grant" (Special Grant) provided by Gyeonggi Province. Among the 31 cities and counties in the province, only Suwon City and Namyangju City did not receive the Special Grant. The reason is simple. They violated the standard to pay disaster basic income in local currency by paying in cash instead.

As a result, Suwon City lost the precious 12 billion won that should have been spent for its citizens due to amateurish administration. However, no one takes responsibility for this. There is no apology. Even though the 12 billion won, which should have been clearly used for citizens, disappeared like smoke.

Mayor Yeom Tae-young of Suwon City is currently running for the top committee member election of the Democratic Party of Korea. Since the beginning of his candidacy, there have been criticisms about administrative gaps.

On the 16th, Mayor Yeom posted on Facebook, "One loach has turned our society into muddy water," fiercely attacking Pastor Jeon Kwang-hoon of Sarang Jeil Church. However, the loach may not be just one. We need to properly manage the small loaches around us first.

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