"Secretly Operating with Doors Closed" ... 35 Owners and Customers Criminally Charged at 4 Entertainment Venues Including Yuheng Jujeom

Seoul City-Police-Autonomous District Joint Intensive Crackdown on Violations of 'COVID-19' Quarantine Guidelines

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] Amid the rapid spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), 35 people, including owners of entertainment bars and billiard halls operating illegally in violation of government quarantine rules and customers using these places, have been criminally charged.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 20th that it conducted a joint emergency nighttime crackdown from 8 p.m. to midnight on the 18th in cooperation with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and each autonomous district, during which such violations were monitored and detected.

This joint crackdown focused intensively on about 60 establishments suspected of violating quarantine guidelines, mainly in entertainment districts in six districts including Yeongdeungpo and Hongdaeipgu, where entertainment bars are densely located. The targets of the crackdown included general restaurants such as Hold'em pubs, recently identified as high-risk facilities for COVID-19 transmission, as well as karaoke rooms, clubs, and other prohibited gathering facilities, and general restaurants subject to a gathering ban after 9 p.m.

The city explained that it selected suspicious businesses by conducting an in-depth analysis of quarantine guideline violations reported over the past two weeks to the online COVID-19 quarantine violation reporting center called 'Eungdapsso.'

Among the detected establishments, two entertainment bars located in Yeongdeungpo, A Norae and B Noraebar, operated despite being prohibited gathering facilities and violating the city's gathering ban order.

They closed the main entrance, which had a gathering ban notice posted, and allowed customers to enter through the back door. They also had secret passages connecting the basements of the buildings. When the investigation officers confirmed the business activities inside the establishments, a total of 23 people, including five hostesses, were drinking in four separate enclosed rooms. The illegal operations were conducted by soliciting customers on the street before 9 p.m. or through phone reservations.

A general restaurant near Hongdaeipgu Station in Mapo-gu was caught operating openly with its doors open until 10 p.m., even though only delivery orders were allowed after 9 p.m. The owner of this establishment excused the customers dining in the hall after 9 p.m. as friends and claimed that the food they were eating was delivered from another restaurant, not prepared on-site.

A billiard hall in Seongbuk-gu, which is subject to a 24-hour gathering ban, was caught operating with customers despite being closed to the public.

The police stated that the owners and customers of the entertainment bars, general restaurants, and billiard halls detected this time will be criminally charged for violating the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act after suspect interrogations. If prosecuted, they may face fines of up to 3 million won.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government pointed out, "During this joint inspection, one establishment was found to provide only a gaming venue without serving food, but many young people were playing card games in a confined business space, which was recognized as a place with a constant risk of infection," adding, "Even for free business types that do not provide food, additional gathering bans and supplementary measures seem necessary."

Park Jae-yong, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's Civil Life Judicial Police Unit, said, "Operating in violation of quarantine rules amid the serious spread of COVID-19 is a serious crime that threatens citizens' health," and added, "We will do our best to ensure that citizens' health and safety are not threatened through continuous crackdowns and active reporting by citizens."

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