No Private Gatherings of 5 or More Allowed in Jeju... Year-End and New Year Special Quarantine Measures Announced

Temporary Closure of Hallasan and Seongsan Ilchulbong

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters (Jeju) Reporter Park Chang-won] Jeju Special Self-Governing Province announced special strengthened quarantine measures for the year-end and New Year holidays on the 23rd to cut off additional chains of cluster infections within the province and prevent new confirmed cases.

This is a drastic measure in response to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (hereinafter referred to as the Central Headquarters) announcement of special quarantine for the year-end and New Year holidays the previous day and the continuous occurrence of community infections within the province.

The special strengthened quarantine measures for the year-end and New Year holidays will be applied from 0:00 on the 24th until 24:00 on January 3rd.

The main contents include ▲strengthening restrictions on private small gatherings such as banning gatherings of five or more people ▲strengthening quarantine management of high-risk facilities such as nursing hospitals, facilities, and religious facilities ▲management of tourist attractions including inducing closure of major tourist spots including national and public tourist facilities ▲ban on gatherings at winter sports facilities such as sledding hills ▲strengthening regulations on accommodation facilities such as hotels, guesthouses, and rural homestays.

In particular, private gatherings, dinners, and parties of five or more people, including at restaurants, are strictly prohibited.

Private gatherings refer to collective activities where five or more people with the same purpose (limited to private purposes such as friendship formation) gather at the same place and time. Examples include alumni meetings, clubs, picnics, company dinners (excluding unavoidable lunch/dinner during working hours), workshops, training sessions, savings clubs, housewarmings, year-end parties, first birthday parties, 60th/70th birthday celebrations, and online cafe meetups.

Reservations for five or more people at restaurants or entry of five or more people together are prohibited. Violators may be fined up to 3 million KRW for operators and up to 100,000 KRW for users, or claims for compensation may be filed.

It is also prohibited for five people from the same group to enter at different times or use different tables in the same restaurant.

However, to ensure effectiveness, exceptions will be allowed for people living at the same address according to the resident registration, weddings, and essential official and corporate management activities such as unavoidable lunch/dinner during working hours.

‘Party rooms,’ frequently used as venues for private gatherings and parties, will be subject to a ban on gatherings. These facilities rent spaces to individuals for a set time to hold various parties (birthday parties, club meetings, Christmas parties, year-end parties, New Year’s parties, wedding and birth celebrations, etc.).

Quarantine management will also be strengthened for facilities with many confirmed cases inside and outside the province, such as nursing and psychiatric hospitals and religious facilities. PCR tests using nasopharyngeal swabs will be conducted every two weeks at nursing and psychiatric hospitals, strict control of outsiders’ access to facilities will be enforced, and private gatherings of workers will be banned.

For religious facilities, regular worship services, masses, Buddhist ceremonies, and memorial services will be conducted online except for essential personnel, and gatherings and meals organized by religious facilities will be suspended.

Major tourist attractions, including national and public tourist facilities within the province, will be intensively managed by inducing temporary closures as much as possible. Sunrise spots such as Seongsan Ilchulbong, Songaksan, Wondangbong, Sarabong, Dodubong, and places expected to attract many visitors during the year-end and New Year holidays such as Hallasan National Park will be proactively temporarily closed.

Although there are no ski resorts, sledding hills, or skating rinks in the province, considering the recent influx of many people to natural sledding hills such as the mid-mountain grazing area of Hallasan, access will be prohibited.

For large marts and traditional markets, ▲mandatory temperature checks ▲ban on tasting, sampling, use of samples, promotional events, and use of rest areas (lounges, chairs, etc.) for customers will be applied.

Accommodation facilities such as resorts, hotels, guesthouses, and rural homestays in the province will limit reservations to within 50% of rooms, and no more than the room capacity will be allowed to stay. Private parties hosted within accommodation facilities are strongly discouraged, and year-end and New Year events and parties organized by accommodation facilities are prohibited.

For accommodations where reservations exceeding 50% or exceeding room capacity have already been made, customers will be informed of cancellation procedures and refund policies, and reservations will be adjusted to within 50%.

Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong urged, “Even considering reservation cancellations, please send related official documents so that we can focus on ultra-strong quarantine and promote cooperation among related organizations and residents.”

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