Year-End Peak is 'Old Talk'... Self-Employed Say "It's Like Being Told to Close" Due to Ban on Gatherings of Five or More

Debts Piling Up as Worries Deepen... "We Cooperate with Quarantine, but the Damage Is Entirely Ours"

"Are We the Scapegoats?" Petition Emerges... Over 167,000 Agree as of the 24th

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Gwan-woo] For Kim Mo (54), who runs a barbecue restaurant in Dong-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, this winter feels not just bitterly cold but like an ice block.

Despite the cold weather, every year around this time, Kim’s restaurant was filled with the warmth of customers enjoying meat and drinks. He vividly remembers how groups of customers gathering in threes or fives would finish their company dinners with warm words like “Thank you, boss” and “Merry Christmas,” which made his heart feel warm.

However, this winter, on Christmas Eve, Kim’s restaurant is in a ‘closed down’ state with only cold winds blowing through.

This reality feels strange to Kim. He said, “Despite warnings from those around me that ‘the food service industry is not for just anyone; it’s a tough business,’ I never gave up because there were customers who enjoyed the food and offered warm words.” Yet, he added, “But with the unprecedented COVID-19 situation and the government’s ‘ban on private gatherings of five or more,’ which effectively shuts down the food service industry, the targeted quarantine measures’ damage falls entirely on business owners.”

The disappearance of the year-end peak season is the same for other self-employed business owners.

Park Mo (34), who runs a pub in the Sangmu district of Gwangju, where entertainment facilities are concentrated, is in a state of despair. Due to multiple rounds of strengthened quarantine measures, his sales have effectively gone negative and reached an irrecoverable state, while burdens such as rent and labor costs are piling up as debt.

He said, “With shortened business hours, I can no longer operate night business, so the damage is severe. Banning private gatherings of five or more and threatening fines for violations is basically telling us to close down.” He added, “In some ways, it feels like the quarantine measures are harshly targeting self-employed business owners, but I have never operated my business uncooperatively. Yet the reality is that self-employed people are left to fend for themselves whether they go bankrupt or not.”

Since midnight on the 24th, a nationwide ban on private gatherings of five or more in restaurants has deepened the worries of food service self-employed business owners, wiping out even the tiny hope of year-end demand.

The special quarantine strengthening measures for this year-end and New Year period will be in effect until midnight on January 3 next year. The main point is that restaurants nationwide are prohibited from accepting reservations for five or more people or allowing groups of five or more to enter together. For example, eight people sitting at two tables of four each is also not allowed.

Violators face fines of up to 3 million won for operators and up to 100,000 won for users.

Yoon Tae-ho, head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters’ quarantine team, emphasized, “Considering the serious situation of COVID-19, we strongly recommend canceling private gatherings of five or more, and this does not mean that gatherings of up to four people are safe or acceptable.”

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, self-employed business owners’ sales have hit rock bottom. According to small business sales data from Korea Credit Data disclosed by Rep. Lee Dong-joo of the Democratic Party on the 23rd, the average sales of small business and self-employed establishments nationwide last week (December 14?20) were only 68% of the same period last year.

Moreover, on the Blue House’s public petition board, a petition titled “Why must only self-employed business owners be the scapegoats?” was posted on the 7th and had received about 167,000 signatures as of that day.

This appears to be evidence that self-employed business owners, pushed to the brink, are standing at a crossroads of closure ahead of Christmas and the year-end and New Year holidays.

In this regard, Gwangju City announced on the 23rd that it would provide low-interest loans to local small business owners and self-employed people affected by COVID-19.

However, with no end in sight to the COVID-19 crisis, there are doubts about how effective one-time financial support will be.

Lee Yong-seop, mayor of Gwangju, said, “This measure was prepared to ease the difficulties of small business owners, who are an important pillar supporting the local economy, even just a little,” and added, “We will monitor the livelihood economy situation and seek multifaceted measures that provide practical help.”

A food service worker said, “It is appreciated that the government and local governments provide various subsidies for self-employed business owners, but I don’t think this is a fundamental solution,” and lamented, “With these temporary measures, we will somehow survive the next few months, but unless the endless COVID-19 crisis ends, debts will inevitably pile up like a mountain.”

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